During the 2023-2024 school year, Sidwell will introduce Larry Momo and Victoria Dawe as new additions to the college counseling team. Larry Momo will act as the Interim Director, while Victoria Dawe will take on the role of Associate Director of College Counseling.
“The college counseling positions, like teaching positions, are critical because [the counselors] are on the front lines of working with students and building relationships,” said Assistant Upper School Principal for Academic Affairs Robert Gross.
According to Gross, a person’s effectiveness in college counseling relies on their understanding of the “college landscape” and how to aid a student’s “journey to what comes next.” Gross is confident Momo and Dawe will provide the necessary support to students throughout the college process.
“They’re joining us with Cynthia Kovacs and Lauren Fields — both veterans — so we’ve got a great team,” said Gross.
Momo comes to Sidwell with decades of experience in both the admissions and college counseling sides of the process.
Momo spent 20 years at Columbia University’s admissions office, including five years as the Director of Admissions. At Columbia, he had the opportunity to travel around the country working on student recruitment and reading applications.
Following Momo’s time at Columbia, he accepted the Director of College Counseling position at Trinity School in New York, where he worked for 28 years.
Momo explained his move from admissions to college counseling, saying, “As you move along in leadership positions, it takes you further and further away from the work you enjoy the most, which is working with students. He pointed out that college counseling entails more direct contact with students and their families.
The college counseling positions, like teaching positions, are critical because [the counselors] are on the front lines of working with students and building relationships. — Robert Gross
Momo views the role of a college counselor as providing students with the appropriate information about the process so they can make informed and thoughtful decisions. He hopes to give students the confidence to take the lead.
“You must give students the agency to take the process as they need to while providing support,” he explained. Momo highlighted how the college landscape is complicated for those not directly involved, so a college counselor’s job is “to make the process interpretable.”
“Both the admissions and college counseling work have been very satisfying,” said Momo. “It’s been work that I very much enjoy.”
Gross noted that working on the admissions side is essential in college counseling, and “[Momo and Dawe] can bring that experience and perspective to their work.”
Dawe also has significant experience in college admissions. Before accepting the position at Sidwell, Dawe worked in admissions at Johns Hopkins University for eight years, including as the Senior Assistant Director of College Counseling. She also attended Johns Hopkins, gaining an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering.
Dawe identified similarities in values between Johns Hopkins and Sidwell, such as the collaborative and supportive environment. She hopes that the collaborative environment will allow for a manageable college application process. By working with students individually, Dawe expects every student to have options they are excited about and to look back on a smooth college process.
Momo and Dawe said they look forward to the year ahead, especially for meeting the students, their parents and their teachers. “I’m looking forward to applying my experience to the enterprise of the college process,” said Momo.
“There’s a lot of nuts and bolts and steps that students need to take to apply to college, so it kind of takes a village to do that,” said Gross. “We’re excited that the village has new members in it.”
