Dr. Emily Wassell
Discover why Dr. Emily Wassell is so passionate about helping parents of gifted teens to finally have a devoted, trusted ally who genuinely knows and champions their teen, so they can watch them grow into a confident, self-directed young adult who makes wise choices, seizes the right opportunities, and truly makes the most of every advantage their family has worked so hard to create
About Emily Wassell
Discover why Emily Wassell is so passionate about helping I advise accomplished, globally minded families who are raising extraordinary daughters and refuse to leave her flourishing to chance. to I work privately with a carefully chosen number of families at a time. As your teen's devoted advisor, my only agenda is theirs. I bring them the wisdom, candor, and unshakeable belief in who they are that transforms a passionate young person into someone with the clarity, confidence, and courage to make their vision a reality.
I care about getting parents and teens from high school stress to college and scholarship success
Here’s my story…
PhD educator, global wellbeing researcher, and founder of a private school with 25 years in education and leadership.
Former school director known for building personalized college pathways and option-rich plans for diverse learners
Named Best Holistic College Coach of 2024—95% of students accepted to schools on their list; 80% earned significant scholarships
Now based in Italy — living proof that the right support at the right time changes everything downstream
A PhD educator, global wellbeing researcher, curriculum designer, and trained IB educator who learned Theory of Knowledge from the men who wrote it, I have spent twenty-five years inside the world's most demanding academic environments.
I founded a private school centered on student wellbeing, designed an app to measure daily experienced wellbeing, and consult students at elite private schools around the world.
I am neurodivergent, a dual citizen, and a third-culture kid. I have lived the complexity your daughter is navigating. And I have spent my career doing one thing with everything I learned from it: helping extraordinary young women turn their potential into a life that is entirely, unapologetically their own.
I am married with two children, and I live the kind of rich, full life I am here to help your daughter grow into: reading, writing, cooking, dancing, swimming, traveling, and exploring everything.
I help parents and teens create
a bigger-picture plan:
one that leads to the right college,
the right scholarships, and the right future.
Back when I went to a boarding high school, I had little guidance.
I know exactly what it feels like to be your daughter. I attended an elite IB boarding school for the last two years of high school, far from home, struggling with assignments, organization, friendships, and decisions I had no business making alone. I was vocal in class, I participated, I showed up. But I struggled on tests, and nobody saw why. I was neurodivergent and I did not yet know what I needed to learn best. The total guidance I received about my future? Twenty minutes. I still remember the big vinyl upholstered chair, and the counselor across from me asking what I liked. I told him I loved to read. In that moment, my entire academic future was decided: Language track. English, French, Hindi, History, Math, and Biology. I told him I wanted art. "That doesn't fit." I wanted Astronomy or Physics. "Not for the Language track." I wanted Philosophy. "Not for the Language track." Every single thing I was drawn to was dismissed with the same four words. And I did not yet know how to fight back. I people-pleased my way into a box that was never mine, and spent two years at one of the world's most rigorous schools studying subjects that dimmed my light instead of igniting it. Nobody saw me. Nobody asked the right questions. Nobody stayed.
Photo: Me at 17 in my boarding school: India
Back when I went to college, I had no guidance.
I know exactly what it feels like to be your daughter. I attended an elite IB boarding school for the last two years of high school, far from home, struggling with assignments, organization, friendships, and decisions I had no business making alone. I was vocal in class, I participated, I showed up. But I struggled on tests, and nobody saw why. I was neurodivergent and I did not yet know what I needed to learn best. The total guidance I received about my future? Twenty minutes. I still remember the big vinyl upholstered chair, and the counselor across from me asking what I liked. I told him I loved to read. In that moment, my entire academic future was decided: Language track. English, French, Hindi, History, Math, and Biology. I told him I wanted art. "That doesn't fit." I wanted Astronomy or Physics. "Not for the Language track." I wanted Philosophy. "Not for the Language track." Every single thing I was drawn to was dismissed with the same four words. And I did not yet know how to fight back. I people-pleased my way into a box that was never mine, and spent two years at one of the world's most rigorous schools studying subjects that dimmed my light instead of igniting it. Nobody saw me. Nobody asked the right questions. Nobody stayed.
I found my own path...
After school I did what felt true: I packed a bag and spent a year backpacking across Europe. When I arrived in Florence and learned about a young Michelangelo carving David in his twenties, something shifted in me. I fell in love with the Renaissance, with the idea of a human being who refused to be defined by a single category. I became a Renaissance woman. I threw myself into the research behind how people actually learn, what helps them thrive, what helps them find their passions and express themselves fully. I studied education for over 10 years. I built frameworks and systems to help teens find their best possible futures and claim them with bold authenticity. And then I created a high school with student wellbeing as its central outcome measure, because I know that when a young person feels truly seen and supported, everything else becomes possible.
Photo Credit : Linda Costa
Eventually, I realized that something had to change.
After school I did what felt true: I packed a bag and spent a year backpacking across Europe. When I arrived in Florence and learned about a young Michelangelo carving David in his twenties, something shifted in me. I fell in love with the Renaissance, with the idea of a human being who refused to be defined by a single category. I became a Renaissance woman. I threw myself into the research behind how people actually learn, what helps them thrive, what helps them find their passions and express themselves fully. I studied education for over 10 years. I built frameworks and systems to help teens find their best possible futures and claim them with bold authenticity. And then I created a high school with student wellbeing as its central outcome measure, because I know that when a young person feels truly seen and supported, everything else becomes possible.
I discovered that I love to help teens navigate these pivotal years.
After years of this work, I have watched my students become extraordinary young adults. Students who came to me broken, scared, and lost left working with me as empowered, bold, loving, resilient, and some of the hardest working, most purposeful people of their generation. I believe with everything I have that when you give a teenager the tools and skills they need to know themselves deeply, they can handle anything life sends their way. That is why I do this work. And that is what I am here to create for your daughter.
Photo credit: Michael P. Franklin
Years of teaching and earning multiple degrees gave me...
After years of this work, I have watched my students become extraordinary young adults. Students who came to me broken, scared, and lost left working with me as empowered, bold, loving, resilient, and some of the hardest working, most purposeful people of their generation. I believe with everything I have that when you give a teenager the tools and skills they need to know themselves deeply, they can handle anything life sends their way. That is why I do this work. And that is what I am here to create for your daughter..
I realized that teens need a mentor who can support them in this important process.
If you’re a parent of a gifted teen,
and you’d like an educational concierge to support and guide your teen, let’s talk.
If you’re I advise accomplished, globally minded families who are raising extraordinary daughters and refuse to leave her flourishing to chance.,
and you’d like to be confident that I work privately with a carefully chosen number of families at a time. As your teen's devoted advisor, my only agenda is theirs. I bring them the wisdom, candor, and unshakeable belief in who they are that transforms a passionate young person into someone with the clarity, confidence, and courage to make their vision a reality., let’s talk.
I'd love to help you get there!
