Deborah Keown

Background

About Deborah Keown

After my own boys went off to college, one to Princeton University, the other to Washington University in St. Louis, I realized that I had just completed the ultimate college counseling training program: being a parent. As parents we help them find their values, find their character, and find their voices to share it all with the rest of the world. We guide them to their aptitudes before they’re even aware of their many gifts, then encourage them to hold on to those gifts in all phases of life to come. We push them to try as many activities and extracurriculars as they can, not so that they look nice on a cleanly organized resume, but so that they can find their passions and subsequently recognize the threads of joy as they extend beyond our care into the big, scary real world. We let go when it’s time for them to go to college, but we do so confident that our young scholars will not only value the breadth of experiences available on a college campus, but value themselves enough to make the most of every one of those experiences. Like a butterfly spreading its wings for the first time, at Monarch College Counseling, we prepare our students for their flight to the next adventures of their life. This transformation necessarily requires hands-on counseling. I started Monarch College Counseling after completing my College Counseling Certificate with Distinction through UCLA. Empowered by my certification (and now years of hard-earned experience!) I provide guidance to students and their loving parents as a caring third-party. The college admissions process is undoubtedly exciting, but equally undeniable are its confusions and frustrations. With years of experience acting as a counselor and mediator to families across the country, I can assure you there is always a solution to the many bumps along the road. At the end of that road however, is a beautiful realization of your child’s journey as a student, and your journey as a loving parent. At Monarch College Counseling, we look forward to lovingly guiding students to the next stage of their life, just as I was so lucky to do with my boys. We dedicate ourselves day and night to helping them find the best fit for the next stage of their life.