MEET THE Team
SONJA MONTIEL
College Counselor
Sonja has served more than 20 years in the college admissions profession, having extensive experience in the areas of freshman, transfer, and international admissions. After earning her master’s degree in education, she began as an admissions officer for the University of California system, followed by becoming a director of college counseling at a private preparatory school in California where nearly 100% of students attended four-year universities worldwide.
Sonja founded College Confidence in 2002 with a philosophy that college planning must be driven by the teen through reflection, transparency, and accountability, which can only be done with parents who are empathetic, knowledgeable, and patient.
Working with Sonja, you will experience her heart and soul when it comes to training, mentoring, guiding, and coaching families through this unique time in a family’s life of raising tweens and teens. Marrying her high school sweetheart, she looks forward to sharing her extraordinary journey raising two daughters (currently ages 13 and 21).
VICTOR LAWRENCE
Music School Admissions Consultant
A native of New York City, cellist Victor Lawrence is currently living in Los Angeles. He has worked on more than 250 motion picture and television scores including The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Watchmen, Lost and Fringe with featured cello solos on the Clint Eastwood film, Changeling. He has worked on records for artists such as Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, Carly Simon, Celine Dion and Colbie Caillat. Prior to that he played in pit orchestras on Broadway in New York City and served as substitute cellist with the New York Philharmonic for five seasons. Victor received his Bachelor degree from the Juilliard School and Master degree from the Manhattan School of Music.
When it comes to the cello, Victor draws from various teaching methods, including his own training, to tailor lessons to the student’s needs. The basics may be universal but each individual is unique and will require an individual approach. As a music program admission consultant, the approach is similar as Victor focuses on understanding each student’s relationship to music, defining clear goals, and exploring a variety of paths that support those goals.
DANA ZULLO
Creative Portfolio Consultant
Dana provides professional guidance and support to teach visual art and design students how to craft stand-out portfolios and navigate the college application process with confidence. Her goal is to motivate students to continue performing, learning, adapting, and growing. She draws on years of experience in the field of art and design where she worked in museums and galleries such as: The New York Transit Museum, Caren Golden Fine Art, and Crown Point Press. Dana earned her BA degree at Columbia University in Visual Arts and MA degree at San Francisco State University in Equity and Social Justice in Education.
Experienced as a published author of artist biographies, Dana helps students explore their own unique qualities and provides guidance to present portfolios in compelling arrangements. She also taught secondary school art in Ghana for two years in the Peace Corps and was a Senior Enrollment Representative at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
CLAUDINE JAENICHEN
Visual Art Admission Consultant
Claudine is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design and the Chair of the Art Dept at Chapman University. Her professional research and practice activities as an information designer specialize in the relationship between design and cognition. Advocating inclusivity through design is central in pursuing design research for evacuation information and projects that address public information. Both her practical design work, as well as her research work, has been included in information design, social sciences, graphic design and psychology national and international peer-reviewed publications. She is also an Associate Research Fellow for Communication Research Institute and an Executive Board Member of the International Institute of Information Design.
