Meet ML Weber, Director of College Counseling

The College Counseling program at St. Agnes Academy is led by ML Weber who joined the Upper School this year.  Her love for her students and her commitment to helping them discover their gifts is evident in the energy she brings every day. She works closely with students and families to ensure the journey to higher education is joyful and uplifting. From leading workshops on scholarships and writing recommendation letters, to coordinating college visits and building relationships with college admissions officers, she provides comprehensive support throughout the entire college application process. As of today, 83% of the Class of 2025 has already been accepted to college!

Mrs. Weber has 25 years of experience in education, and in 2023 she was recognized as a Counselor Who Changes Lives, a national award presented annually by Colleges Who Change Lives.

We asked her to share her story and describe how SAA prepares and guides students through the college search process. 

Tell us about your background in college counseling. 

This marks my 11th school year in college counseling full-time and my 25th school year in education. My background includes 10 years in public school college counseling and leadership, most recently as the Assistant Head of School at Freedom Preparatory Academy High School, a public charter school in the Whitehaven neighborhood, and previously at KIPP Memphis Collegiate High School, in north Memphis, leading their College Match Team.

My career began in higher education at the University of Arkansas as a Student Affairs practitioner. I moved throughout the southeast to medium-sized public and small private colleges specializing in Greek Life, judicial affairs, student activities, and campus operations. This began my love of working with students as a guide to what type of person they hoped to become. I came to Memphis to be the Director of Student Involvement at Rhodes College.

As I told the 11th graders recently, I had a terrible high school college counseling experience. My high school was a large urban public school with two Guidance Counselors for 1,500 students. I only saw my Guidance Counselor twice: once for my ACT scores and a second time to tell me I was not smart enough to take an advanced course. I persisted, and he let me take the class for which I received a well-earned B. When I went to college, I declared myself an art major because I had been the yearbook photographer, was a bit quirky, and thought to be creative. I quickly learned that I could not paint and needed to get a new major. I had five majors in four semesters. There was no college counseling to speak of at my high school.

I tell this story to students because had I had a college counselor, I would have been much more aware of my vocational calling and aptitude. Would have had a much more focused college start and possibly could have attended (and afforded) my dream college. That's my goal. I want students to be self-aware of their gifts (aptitudes), where they can take them (vocational calling), and their college options.

I returned to the work of full-time college counseling, with no other school leadership responsibilities, because of my husband. Had he followed his Guidance Counselor's advice, he would be a garbage man based on his GPA and SAT scores instead of an award-winning photojournalist with the Daily Memphian. No student should be predestined by antiquated career assessments and their #s (GPA and standardized test scores).

What do you enjoy most about your job? 

Students. 100%. I love talking with them about what comes next, preparing for a video interview, laughing about weird supplemental essay prompts, and when they share fun nuggets about themselves. My favorite thing is when my students become adults with college degrees, families, and their own stories to tell. It is my delight when they become the thing they thought was out of their reach when they were 18 years old dreaming about adulthood.

How do you partner with students and families at SAA to help each student achieve her goals?  

One-on-one meetings are the best way to partner with students and families. Here I learn what they're worrying about, what they're proud of, what they're afraid to ask. I ask specific and clarifying questions about what students want, what their family wants for them, how best to communicate with everyone individually and/or together and send emails. I tend to send very long wordy emails to ensure everyone knows the same thing. It is important that I am not the gatekeeper of college counseling or college access. 

Talk about the college process and how it applies to each grade level? 

The first two years of high school are the most important to the college application journey. These years are a student's academic foundation and the beginning of their academic story for college admission staff. Students should do their best each day, create positive relationships with teachers, and start advocating for themselves. It is alright if the 9th and 10th grades are not perfect, so long as the second half of Upper School shows academic growth. Students and families should begin visiting colleges so that students can begin to figure out what type of environment they like - large cities, small cities, cities with or without a Target, rural areas. Students and families can attend admission evening events and go on college tours. Summer pre-college programs are an excellent way to expand a student's exposure to a collegiate learning environment. Whether students spend a week, five weeks, or complete a Memphis-based program, a summer pre-college program exposes a student to a campus, fosters independence, and allows them to try out a career path.

Junior year is important. This is the year a student will create a Wish List (colleges they will apply to) and ask teachers to write recommendation letters. These two tasks are driven by students' vocational interests and/or GPA-ACT scores. 11th graders should attend college admission visits at St. Agnes, evening events, college fairs, and campus tours. This is the year students and families should talk with each other about what their expectations are of each other once the college application process begins. These can be difficult conversations as they often include the cost of college or concerns, from both, about what comes next.

Senior year is full of all the last steps: submitting college applications, writing the Personal Statement and supplemental essays, applying for scholarships and special programs, submitting the FAFSA, and making the big decision - where to enroll. For each step, a Flex Workshop is offered to students with instructions and exemplars. Students are strongly encouraged to meet early and often to ensure applications are submitted correctly with the best version of the student presented to an admission committee for review. It is important to attend Preview Days or Admitted Student Days to ensure a student's college selection is the best fit for them.

Of course, it is never too early to start meeting with me. My calendar is available to students to schedule a meeting during their off time. Families are invited to reach out as well.

What is one main thing you would like parents to know about the college process? 

I want parents to remember their student is more than their #s, GPA, and standardized test scores. Their students are interesting human beings whose college application process may be different from their [parent's] experience and that's OK. There are over 4,000 higher education institutions with majors that did not exist when they [parents] were in college, now created based on the ever-evolving world and new technologies. 

Anything else you would like to share?

I am happy to be at St. Agnes. Everyone is so kind and everyone has been so welcoming. The seniors are rocking and rolling through applications and scholarships so it should be an exciting spring!