Upcoming College Knowledge Nights:
Our key panelists include:
Cindy Chanin, Founder and Director of Rainbow Tutoring
Cindy is dedicated to making education an inspiring, holistic, and creative experience by providing educational enrichment to students of all ages. As an international child theater performer, at age 16, she starred in the international tour of ‘Into the Woods’ and spent a month performing in Scotland as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Taking her love of theatre into her professional educational endeavors, she has coached students for monologue and musical theatre auditions for a variety of schools, including NYU’s Tisch School.
Cindy studied Psychology, Theatre, Mathematics, and Comparative Literature at Yale University and USC. She also worked as an Admissions Officer at both universities. During her undergraduate years, Cindy founded and artistically directed a successful multicultural theatre company that enabled student artists to collaborate with Equity theatre and film professionals on innovative, full-scale productions throughout Los Angeles, giving students the opportunity to be mentored and work alongside renowned performers and directors such as Alfred Molina, Joel Zwick, Armin Shimmerman, and Alan Blumenfeld. Cindy also served as a board member and Arts and Culture Committee Chair along with the Dean of the School of Fine Arts.
Over the years, Cindy Chanin has personally and extensively tutored virtually every subject. Her full spectrum academic mentoring abilities run the gamut from Honors Chemistry to Trig/Pre-Calculus to American/European History, Literature Analysis, Creative Writing, and Spanish to College Application Consulting and College Admissions Exam Preparation. In addition to coaching several students to perfect 2400′s on their SAT’s, she and Rainbow’s educators have also helped many students gain admission to top universities including Stanford, Yale, Brown, Northwestern, USC, Oxford, Julliard, NYU, among others. Many of Cindy’s students, their families, and the schools she works with refer to her as “the miracle worker.” Cindy is also an award-winning author and is currently in the process of publishing a book on her experience, expertise, and vision for the future of education.
Jeff Morrow, Director of College Counseling at Oaks Christian School
Jeff Morrow came to Southern California in 1991 to attend Pepperdine University. He received his BA in Political Science in 1995 and a Master’s in Education in 1996. Subsequently, he taught Performing Arts, History and coached basketball until he returned to his Alma Mater in 1997 where he spent the next 3 years traveling throughout the United States as Director of Church Relations and then four additional years as a manager and Associate Director of the Admissions Office at Pepperdine University. Jeff came to Oaks Christian in 2003 and was promoted to Director of College Counseling in 2009. He has also been on the faculty of the English Department, teaching Modern American Literature. His involvement as a member of his professional organization has allowed him to be a lobbyist for educational concerns in both Sacramento and Washington DC, and he has served on the board of the Western Association Of College Counseling as the chair of government relations. He is currently the president elect of the Western Association of College Admission Counseling. As he nears the end of his second decade in either admission or counseling he considers this his life’s work.
Sascha Alexander, Co-Faciliator of Paving The Way To The College Of Your Dreams
Sascha graduated Magna Cum Laude from USC with a B.A. in Theater and a Minor in Humanities. Thanks to her high SAT scores and stellar academic track-record, she was invited to participate in an interdisciplinary honors core at USC called Thematic Option, and studied with some of the most sought-after professors on campus in Political Science, Neurobiology, International Relations, and Comparative Literature. As one of Rainbow’s most sought-after college consultants, personal statement coaches, and paving mentors, Sascha has helped myriad students set themselves apart as outliers, write game-changing essays, and gain admissions to some of the most competitive schools in the country. Sascha is also an award-winning writer, solo performance artist, and professional actress in LA; her poignant, bold, and critically-acclaimed one woman show on body image has garnered tons of attention over the past few years and has deeply impacted the lives of teens and young adults around the country. As an integral member of the Rainbow Tutoring family, Sascha is thrilled to have the opportunity to mentor and coach students because nothing excites her more than an individual on the edge of growth and change! She looks forward to helping her students discover their confidence and leverage their assets to meet their academic and personal goals.
Mikah Maly-Karros, Marriage and Family Therapist Intern
Mikah Maly-Karros completed her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, specializing in Psychology, at the University of California, Irvine, where she was also a decorated basketball player. She earned her Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University and is a board registered Marriage and Family Therapist Intern. Mikah has worked with children and teens in a variety of contexts, for over a decade and has served as a teacher, tutor, basketball coach, and most recently, as an educational therapist, where she has discovered a special interest in identifying and treating psychological barriers to academic success. Mikah’s work in everything she does, including college admissions, reflects her belief in exploring what’s possible by utilizing a holistic approach, integrating wellness of the mind, body, and spirit.
