About Isabella

Students should not have to navigate college alone.

Meet your counselor– me, Isabella Ordaz. I am a first generation college and Masters graduate and the daughter to Latin American immigrant parents.

I have 5+ years of experience working in college access, on both sides of the admissions desk. I have served as the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at both Holy Names University and the University of Southern California (USC). At Holy Names, I provided caring and organized step-by-step guidance to prospective and incoming students who were mostly first-generation. At USC, I read over 2,000 freshman and transfer applications and discerned who demonstrated the most competitive and fitting student profile.

I have also supported first-generation students in Oakland and Richmond in pursuing postsecondary pathways as a college counselor for several years. This role helped me learn how to not just support students logistically, but also motivate them and hold them accountable to their potential.

I chose to attend Pepperdine University and after changing my major seven times, I graduated by the end of my third year. After working for a year in college admissions, I returned to school to pursue a Master of Social Science from the University of California, Los Angeles. After graduating from UCLA, my work in thoughtful college access took off, although I have spent some time continuing graduate studies at Fuller Theological Seminary to learn more about theology in recent years.

In high school, I was intensely motivated to go to college and put a lot of pressure on myself to build an academic and extracurricular profile that reflected my potential. But sometimes, like many other students, I put too much pressure on myself and pushed myself too hard in my rugged, lonely pursuit of going to a prestigious college. I wish I had someone like myself to tell the younger-me that health and contentment always should come before material success. My dedication for this work comes from a deep empathy for students who are experiencing what I experienced as a college-going student.

You can reach me any time at isabellaordazcollegecounseling@gmail.com.

If you feel inspired to support this work, your donations would be greatly appreciated! Thank you for considering! 🙂