Mentor
Daniel attended the University of Minnesota on full scholarship, graduating summa cum laude with a triple major in Religious Studies, Anthropology, and Jewish Studies. After college, he earned his masters degree at Harvard and his Ph.D. at Yale, where he wrote his thesis on the first Christian monasteries in Roman Egypt. Academia proved to be the perfect intellectual playground for his curiosity about how the past and the present shape one another. He has traveled widely in Egypt and the Middle East, excavated the ruins of desert monasteries, and published texts written in six ancient languages, of which Coptic is his clear favorite. After his Ph.D., Daniel embarked on a five year career as a podcaster, applying his analytical thinking skills to his lifelong fascination with strategy games. Podcasting is where Daniel mastered the art of delivering complex stories in concise, engaging formats for a highly specialized audience. He uses these skills to help students sharpen their voice and cultivate a personal brand that will dazzle the readers of their college applications.
At Ivy Scholars, Daniel serves as a Candidacy Building and College Applications mentor. He coaches students on college essays, career strategy, and research publications, and helps students turn their intellectual passions into capstone projects that will make them stand out. His work is informed by his background in the study of religion, which draws upon elements of many different disciplines such as history, sociology, literary theory, anthropology, economics, and gender studies. Religious studies is a patchwork of many specializations working together to achieve a deeper human understanding. Daniel approaches his work with students in a similar way. Each student brings a wealth of unique experiences and expertises, often spanning many disciplines that intersect in novel and surprising ways. His first priority as a mentor is to learn about all the many pieces that make you who you are, to excavate each layer of your story and understand your dreams, your curiosities, your questions, and your goals. He then helps you shape those pieces into a compelling story that will get you into a great college.
Alma Mater: University of Minnesota, Harvard University, and Yale University
Based In: Saint Paul, Minnesota
“I wanted a taste of many different lives, sophisticated or simple, highbrow or low. Only then would this journey be worthwhile.” -Sanmao, Stories of the Sahara
Ivy Scholars is the leading educational consultant in Sugar Land, Texas, providing admissions coaching, test prep, and more to help students enroll at top tier schools.
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