About Me
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I am a storyteller, story lover, a writer, speaker and communicator, and a parent.
Formally, I grew up in Princeton, N.J., attended Princeton High School, earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Barnard College of Columbia University where I ranked on the Dean’s List, and studied abroad at the London School of Economics and Political Science. I earned my Master’s Degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, and was awarded a journalism fellowship from the American Council of Germany for investigative reporting. I earned a Certificate in International Relations from New York University and I have my Certification as a Life Story Coach. From as early as I can remember, I've been obsessed with crafting stories through writing, photography, vision boards, documentary film and videos. I’ve been fortunate to have traveled extensively, exploring and connecting with new people and places in my personal and professional life. My career has always been immersed in discovery, or rather, I've always been immersed in finding interesting discoveries as my career evolved from finance to story telling and on to higher education admissions. I began on the investment banking and trading floors of Wall Street’s leading financial firms, traversing America’s south and heartland on IPO road shows. I traveled across Eastern Europe, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, to meet finance ministers and hear their tales of economic struggle and recovery. As a journalist, I broadened my terrain beyond economics and finance to include business, retail, creative innovations and human interest stories. I found these in abundance while walking my beats in Manhattan, reporting from NY Fashion Week, film festivals at Sundance and Toronto, trade shows in New York, Miami, Milan, Paris, Las Vegas, and London, and touring Germany on an investigative journalism assignment. I was in search of stories that had impacts, ripple effects, consequences, wisdom, heart and soul and ah-ha moments. All of those moments of discovery became rich sources of inspiration for formulating and leading branding and marketing campaigns, presentations and writing speeches. Discovery is what drives me and discovery is why I lived in New York City for more than 25 years. When I moved back home to Princeton, Princeton University offered me the opportunity to join their admissions team as an Admissions Reader. For two years (2018 to 2020), I had the privilege of reading the narratives of the world's best and brightest applicants vying for entry in the ultimate round of higher education Olympics. I've read thousands of essays, guidance counselor letters, teacher recommendations, resumes and extracurricular activity accounts. I still feel such excitement knowing many of the outstanding candidates I recommended went on to receive and accept offers. It also validated my judgment and intuition. I could apply my journalist's instincts to objectively assess which students were great fits. Bottom line: I understand the world of narratives and storytelling. I’ve seen what story packages work in the application. The trick is unlocking what you already have inside of you and helping you bring your story to life is my passion. I appreciate the goal is to get accepted into a great college or university and create options. I was very driven to achieve that too, and I did - four times. I also appreciate that something deeply special emerges from this very intense process of creating a complete personal narrative. The story you craft about yourself is a living manifesto. The most profound lesson I’ve learned is that our stories are creations that breathe. They're in constant motion. A visualization, a declaration, an affirmation and a mission statement of what you hope and intend to become is just as truthful as what has already happened. If we are in touch with ourselves, the narratives we craft will enable us to co-create our futures alongside the good will and humor of the Universe. Even now, as I run my own consulting business to help others, I find that I'm always changing, growing and learning from people who cross my path, whose stories I'm lucky to hear. Always remember
Let’s put your best narrative out there. With best wishes and gratitude. Kirsten |
Kirsten Sharett
M.S. Journalism Columbia University
B.A. Barnard College Columbia University London School of Economics Certificate in International Relations NYU Associate Member IECA
Certified Life Story Coach |
