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THE IVY CENTRE

FOUNDER LED RELATIONSHIP DRIVEN MEANINGFUL LIVES

WATCH FREE MASTERCLASS

Free masterclass: Our 10+ year proven college admissions framework

See exactly how we would approach your child’s application, and what matters most from here

A 29 minute masterclass with the framework our founders use inside our Signature mentorship program, shown on two real students admitted to Harvard and Princeton.

  • A proven framework & downloadable resources

    We distilled 10+ years of admissions experience into a 5 stage framework, developed by all three of our Ivy League graduate founders.

  • Actionable next steps

    See what to strengthen, what to put in context and what to emphasize for your child’s dream schools, even if their GPA isn’t perfect or their activities look like everyone else’s.

  • Watch it together with your child

    Many families watch it together and then compare notes on where their own application stands.

AS SEEN ON

A preview of the Ivy Centre framework, gap analysis, prioritization tools and student case studies

Watch the free masterclass

Instant access. We'll also send you the link over email if you'd like to finish the video at a later time.

OUR RESULTS

Pioneers of the three founder mentorship model.

OUR MENTORSHIP

400+

students mentored

10+

years of experience

3

mentors for every student

EARLY ADMISSION RESULTS

REA · Past five admissions cycles

100%

REA to Stanford

90%+

REA to Harvard

About these results How we calculate our results and protect student privacy View details

01 · How we calculate these numbers

Each published percentage above represents the share of The Ivy Centre students who applied to that university through their Restrictive Early Action term during the 2021–22 to 2025–26 admissions cycles and were admitted. Every applicant is counted, with no exclusions.

These figures include all of our paying students, students in our scholarship program, and students mentored before we introduced our current three-founder model. Before that model, students followed the same core program under one lead mentor, our founder Lara David.

Our scholarship students are selected from a large pool of highly qualified applicants, so they naturally tend to start with stronger profiles. Even so, outcomes for our scholarship and paying students differ by less than 5 percentage points in every published metric.

Figures are calculated from our internal records and updated every May, once the admissions cycle has closed. Last updated: May 2026. Percentages are always rounded down as a conservative measure, and differences between groups always rounded up, to the nearest 5, so numbers are never overstated. “Students mentored” figure includes every student we have worked with since 2015, across all of our programs.

02 · Why we don’t publish applicant counts

Unlike volume-driven college admissions firms, we mentor a deliberately small group of students each year. We protect every family’s privacy, and for the many high-profile families we work with, that privacy is essential (if not non-negotiable).

Community is also a big part of being an Ivy Centre student. Our students and families know one another, so even simple figures, like the number of students applying to a specific university in a given year, could easily reveal who applied and who was admitted. We know many firms rely on detailed figures like these to build trust, and that not publishing them may raise questions. We have, however, deliberately chosen to limit the figures we publish: protecting our families’ privacy and our relationships will always matter more to us than any statistic we could share.

We do not share student data with any individual or organization, in any form, including anonymized data. Every student’s information stays within our secure environment. In the rare cases where we connect a prospective family with a current or past family, we ask that family for permission individually, every time. Any student story we share publicly is shared with that student’s consent.

Rather than publishing detailed figures, we stand behind our work with a full money-back guarantee of up to four weeks.

INSIDE THE MASTERCLASS

What every parent should know before their child applies

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Princeton is the goal. What’s the next move?

Student stats
GPA3.8 / 4.0
TESTINGTest optional
FINANCIAL AIDHigh need

Based on a real student we mentored

She wants to study engineering, has already done research, and founded a STEM organization for young women. But she moved schools four times in high school, so her transcript is uneven. She’s applying in two years. Where would you focus first?

A Take the SAT so she has a strong score to submit

B Add more AP and advanced STEM courses

C Explain her school moves in her application

D Start a new engineering activity to stand out

YOU CHOSE A

Most families start here. We didn’t.

Sera was admitted to Princeton through Single Choice Early Action, with an uneven transcript and no test scores.

In the masterclass, we walk through exactly what we prioritized, what we left alone, and the one extra piece of evidence that made the difference.

Watch Sera’s full strategy in chapter 14 of our masterclass ( 26:37)

Show me Sera’s strategy

Free · Instant access · 29 minutes · 6 downloadable guides

YOU CHOSE B

A natural instinct, but not where we focused.

Sera was admitted to Princeton through Single Choice Early Action, with an uneven transcript and no test scores.

In the masterclass, we walk through exactly what we prioritized, what we left alone, and the one extra piece of evidence that made the difference.

Watch Sera’s full strategy in chapter 14 of our masterclass ( 26:37)

Show me Sera’s strategy

Free · Instant access · 29 minutes · 6 downloadable guides

YOU CHOSE C

Good instinct. That’s part of what we did, but only half the story.

Sera was admitted to Princeton through Single Choice Early Action, with an uneven transcript and no test scores.

In the masterclass, we walk through exactly what we prioritized, what we left alone, and the one extra piece of evidence that made the difference.

Watch Sera’s full strategy in chapter 14 of our masterclass ( 26:37)

Show me Sera’s strategy

Free · Instant access · 29 minutes · 6 downloadable guides

YOU CHOSE D

Many students try this. We did the opposite.

Sera was admitted to Princeton through Single Choice Early Action, with an uneven transcript and no test scores.

In the masterclass, we walk through exactly what we prioritized, what we left alone, and the one extra piece of evidence that made the difference.

Watch Sera’s full strategy in chapter 14 of our masterclass ( 26:37)

Show me Sera’s strategy

Free · Instant access · 29 minutes · 6 downloadable guides

  1. What makes your child stand out?

    Admissions officers read thousands of applications from students with similar grades and activity lists. The masterclass shows how they tell those students apart, and how we find the strengths, experiences and personal context that make a student memorable.

    You’ll take away: a clearer sense of what your child’s application should be built around.

  2. Is their effort going to the right places?

    Many students fill every hour with new commitments and still leave the most important gaps untouched. We show when a new activity adds real value, when going deeper in an existing one matters more, and how we prioritize with the time a student has left.

    You’ll take away: a way to judge whether your child’s time is being spent where it counts.

  3. What if their GPA isn’t perfect?

    A lower grade doesn’t have to define an application. You’ll see when grades need context, and what other evidence can show admissions officers that a student is ready for a demanding university.

    You’ll take away: a realistic, calmer view of how much a GPA does and doesn’t decide.

  4. What does good strategy look like?

    Follow two real students who looked equally strong on paper and applied to the same schools, but needed completely different strategies. One was admitted to Harvard, the other to Princeton.

    You’ll take away: a concrete picture of how we would work through your own child’s application.

  5. Are your child’s dream colleges right for them?

    Rankings and acceptance rates tell you little about whether a university makes sense for your child. We show how students should research its programs, opportunities, and admissions priorities, then connect those findings to their goals, their college list, and what they communicate in Why This University essays and interviews.

    You’ll take away: a clearer understanding of how your child can build an informed college list and a specific strategy for each university.

Then, talk with us about your child, no strings attached, and no obligation to enroll in any of our paid programs!

We welcome every family to book a complimentary consultation with our founders. In 30 minutes, we’ll look at your child’s situation, answer your questions, and share what we would prioritize for their specific case.

And if you do decide to work with us, you will still be eligible for our money back guarantee. We believe in our mentorship enough to put our fees on the line: a full refund within the introductory period of 2 or 4 weeks, depending on your child’s stage in the application process, no questions asked.

NOT SURE YET?

Here’s a sneak peek inside the masterclass.

Practical tools, real examples, downloadable resources and a clear framework you can apply. See exactly what you’ll learn before you sign up.

The Ivy Centre / Masterclass Preview only Your child’s application strategy masterclass 29 minutes · 15 chapters 6 downloadable guides

What to strengthen, what to highlight, and what to explain in your child’s application.

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Full masterclass included with free and immediate access

Scroll to explore the 15 chapters we cover in the masterclass

(free with masterclass)
  1. 00:00 01 What does a strong application actually need?
  2. 06:35 02 The five stages of every strong application strategy
  3. 09:20 03 What makes your child memorable to admissions officers?
  4. 10:45 04 The four pillars behind every student profile
  5. 12:27 05 Turn your child’s strengths, values, and curiosity into direction
  6. 13:53 06 What is your child’s application actually missing?
  7. 15:26 07 How to spot weaknesses in your child’s college application
  8. 17:01 08 There's only 3 types of gaps. Each with a different way forward.
  9. 18:55 09 What can your child still change before they apply?
  10. 20:26 10 What deserves your child’s effort, and what can wait?
  11. 21:37 11 Why each university needs a different strategy
  12. 22:36 12 How to research colleges the right way
  13. 24:45 13 Peter: Highly technical profile but no differentiator
  14. 26:37 14 Sera: Low GPA and SAT, but strong depth in context
  15. 27:56 15 What should your child do next?

Scroll to explore the downloadable resources to put into practice

(free with masterclass)
  • College Application Strategy Map
  • Discover What Sets Your Child Apart
  • Find and Address Your Child’s Specific Application Gaps
  • What to Strengthen Next: Your Child’s Priorities Cheat Sheet
  • Turn Your Child’s Profile into a REALLY Compelling Application
  • How to Research Colleges and Shape Your Child’s Strategy for Each

All 15 chapters and six guides are included with free access and also shared with you over email.

Unlock my free access

WATCH THE FREE MASTERCLASS

Free masterclass on our college admissions strategy, refined over 10+ years and adapted from our Signature framework, so students can apply it to their own application strategy immediately.

WHO'S TEACHING THIS

Marah Selim, Jorge Dorantes, and Lara David, founders of The Ivy Centre

A NOTE FROM OUR FOUNDERS

Your child works with all 3 founders, never with an assigned consultant.

We’re the three founders of The Ivy Centre and graduates of Columbia and Cornell. The Ivy Centre is a founder led college admissions mentorship, which means every student works directly with all three of us. Lara is a Civil and Environmental Engineer and former BCG management consultant, Marah is a Counseling Psychology PhD candidate, and Jorge is a practicing physician and surgeon.

Our backgrounds have opened doors to many different careers, but we came together to build The Ivy Centre because education is our true passion. Each of us has experienced its power to change lives, and we want to help many more ambitious students access those possibilities.

Over the last 10+ years, we have mentored more than 400 students and achieved exceptional admissions outcomes, including a 100% acceptance rate among our Stanford Restrictive Early Action applicants over the past 5 application cycles. That experience shaped the structured college admissions mentorship framework we use today to understand each student more comprehensively, identify the strengths and gaps in their candidacy, and determine where their effort can make the greatest difference with the time they have available.

Because every student is mentored by all three founders, that strategy is informed by multiple perspectives rather than the judgment of a single advisor.

In this free masterclass, we’ll introduce you to that framework and walk you through 2 real student examples, so you can begin applying the same thinking to your child’s application.

We’re excited you’re here and hope you enjoy the content!

Lara, Marah, and Jorge

MARAH'S STORY

A Psychology Ph.D. candidate, researcher, and educator, Marah brings a deeper understanding of how self knowledge, mindset, habits, and wellbeing shape what a student is able to become.

Read Marah's Story

JORGE'S STORY

Surgeon, pianist, author, and lifelong learner, Jorge brings a perspective shaped by curiosity across disciplines and the belief that students should not have to become one dimensional to become exceptional.

Read Jorge's Story

LARA'S STORY

Engineer, consultant, researcher, entrepreneur, and educator. Lara's path gave her the tools to turn ambition into direction and ideas into action.

Read Lara's Story

LEARN FROM REAL APPLICATIONS

2 real student cases in detail.

See our framework in action through the stories of 2 students who looked equally impressive on paper and applied to the same colleges, but whose applications needed very different strategies

  • Real student examples

    Understand why a step that was exactly right for one would have done very little for the other.

  • A framework you can use

    Practical insights to guide what YOU can focus on next.

DIRECTLY FROM OUR STUDENTS

Subah M.

Subah M.

Princeton University

Felipe A.

Felipe A.

Columbia University

HOW IT WORKS

Useful to you whether or not you ever work with us

  1. 1. Watch the masterclass

    In 29 minutes, on your own time, ideally with your child. You’ll see the framework we use with every student, and two real cases from first assessment to admission.

  2. 2. Talk with our founders

    Book a complimentary 30 minute consultation. Before the call, you’ll fill in a short questionnaire so we arrive already understanding your child’s situation. On the call, we’ll share what we see, what we would prioritize, and answer your questions. There’s no obligation to enroll.

  3. 3. Leave with clear priorities

    Whether or not you work with us, you’ll leave knowing what matters most for your child right now, and what can wait. If mentorship would help, we’ll explain exactly what it would look like for your family.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

About the consultation

1. Is the consultation a sales call?

No. It’s time with the founders focused on your child’s situation. If mentorship would help, we’ll explain how. If it wouldn’t, or if it’s too early, we’ll tell you that too.

2. Should my child join the call?

Ideally, yes. Hearing your child talk about their interests helps us give better guidance.

3. We spoke with you before. Can we revisit the conversation?

Of course. Many families first meet us early in high school and come back when the timing feels right. We’ll pick up where we left off and look at what has changed since.

About the mentorship

1. Who will actually mentor my child?

Every student works directly with all three founders: Lara, Marah and Jorge. You won’t be handed to an assigned consultant. Each of us brings a different lens, so every major decision is looked at from more than one angle.

2. How much direct time will my child have with the founders?

We’ll walk you through the exact structure for your child’s program during the consultation depending on the program that is most suitable for them.

3. What are the mentorship program deliverables?

Every program starts with an in depth assessment of your child’s strengths, interests and goals, followed by a personalized strategy and a prioritized plan. In the first stage of the program, that includes:

Understanding your child (first weeks)

  • Three assessments: the CliftonStrengths assessment (administered and interpreted by Marah), a Values Exploration assessment, and an Intellectual Vitality assessment of your child’s interests and thinking patterns.
  • Student Insight Report: brings together your child’s strengths, values, interests, thinking patterns and growth areas in one document.
  • Personal Program Blueprint: the plan that guides academic focus, extracurriculars, skill development and the early shape of their application story.
  • Action Plan and Accountability System: clear next steps, with regular check ins to keep them on track.
  • Success Skills Plan, where needed: support for organization, motivation or executive functioning.

Developing depth (throughout the program)

  • The Ivy Lab: our signature exploration program, where your child investigates fields, real world problems and opportunities that match their interests.
  • Focused Workshops: hands on practice in research, writing, communication, leadership and critical thinking.
  • Strategy and Synthesis Sessions: ongoing one to one sessions that connect what your child is learning to their next decisions.
  • Wellbeing and Performance Reviews: every two weeks, Marah reviews stress, habits and productivity with your child.

Staying connected (throughout the program)

  • The Ivy Centre app: one place where students and parents can follow your child’s plan, see upcoming steps and stay in touch with us between sessions.
  • Ongoing communication by email and online messaging: questions don’t have to wait for the next session, and parents stay informed at every stage, not just at milestones.

Looking ahead

As your child gets closer to application season, we begin shaping their college list and application strategy. That leads into Application Architecture, where all three founders plan each application before any writing begins.

The depth of founder time and one to one work depends on the program (Collaborative, Individual or Signature). We’ll walk you through exactly what your child’s program includes during the consultation.

4. Will you push my child into activities just to impress colleges?

No. The strongest applications come from genuine interests developed with depth. We help students find what they truly care about and grow it into meaningful work, rather than collecting activities for a résumé.

5. Do you work with students at international or American curriculum schools abroad?

Yes. We mentor students around the world, including at American curriculum and international schools. We understand how admissions officers read applications from different school systems, and we tailor the strategy to your child’s context, whatever it is.

6. When is the best time to start?

The earlier a student starts, the more options remain open, especially for activities and coursework. That said, we work with students at every stage, from early high school through senior year, and we’ll be honest about what can still be done with the time available.

About results

1. Can you share outcomes for students like mine?

Our published results are calculated from our internal records. To protect our families’ privacy, we don’t publish applicant counts by school or cycle. In the consultation, we’re happy to talk about students with profiles similar to your child’s.

About cost and commitment

1. How much does mentorship cost, and what’s included?

Our programs are priced by level of support and length of engagement. Mentorship programs start at $15K. We’ll give you a complete, all inclusive breakdown for the program that best suits your child, including what is and isn’t covered by each program, so there are no surprises later.

2. What if we decide it isn’t the right fit?

Our mentorship comes with a money back guarantee within your introductory period of 2 or 4 weeks, depending on your child’s stage in the application process, no questions asked. If your family decides later on that we’re not the right fit, every student’s contract includes a progressive refund schedule, and we’re happy to walk you through it during the consultation.

3. My child is a senior. Is it too late?

Not at all. Even with November and January deadlines ahead, there is still a lot that can change the outcome: a sharper college list, a clear strategy for each application, and essays that show who your child really is. We’ll focus on what will make the biggest difference with the time left, and all three founders review every application before it’s submitted.

WATCH FREE MASTERCLASS

YOUR COMPLIMENTARY CONSULTATION

Your next steps, in writing.

Meet all three founders, discuss your child’s goals, and receive practical guidance to help you decide what to do next.

WHAT YOU’LL RECEIVE AFTER THE SESSION

The Ivy Centre Operating Guide and Laura’s Action Plan, with private contents obscured

The Operating Guide

How our mentorship works, what’s included, and how the program fits together.

Your Personal Action Plan

A one page report with our preliminary assessment and specific next steps for your child.

Book your free consultation

Both documents are yours to keep, no commitment or strings attached!

BOOK YOUR

complimentary consultation

The Ivy Centre

Choose a time that suits you. In 30 minutes by video, our three founders will look at your child’s situation with you and share what we would prioritize. No obligation, just honest guidance.

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HEAR FROM OUR STUDENTS

See what our framework made possible for them.

You already heard from us. Now hear from students we’ve mentored about how their experience with The Ivy Centre shaped their path to some of the world’s most selective universities.

Subah M.

Subah M.

Princeton University

Klethon G.

Klethon G.

NYU Abu Dhabi

Nubia T.

Nubia T.

Purdue University

Felipe A.

Felipe A.

Columbia University

WATCH FREE MASTERCLASS

YOUR NEXT STEP

Get a clearer direction for your child’s application.

WATCH THE FREE MASTERCLASS

Lara David

Lara David

Mentor & Founder of The Ivy Centre

Columbia University Alumna

Some of the most important people in my life were the ones who saw something in me before I knew how to see it myself. Mentoring gives me the chance to be that person for someone else.

Where it started

Lara is a Civil & Environmental Engineer by training and a former Boston Consulting Group consultant. She has more than a decade of experience in college admissions and mentorship, specializing in strategies for universities with acceptance rates of 5% or below.

Growing up in Brazil, she attended private school with scholarships awarded on the basis of both financial need and academic merit, while competing in Mathematics Olympiads at the national level. Education changed the possibilities available to her, and she became determined to help students from underprivileged backgrounds use it to change the possibilities available to them.

She has mentored more than 400 domestic and international students, 92% of whom have been admitted to the most selective, Top Tier universities in the United States.

Why admissions

Lara began mentoring students applying to the Ivy League, MIT, Stanford, and other highly selective universities whose generous financial aid programs could make a fully funded education possible for international students with demonstrated need.

For these students, writing a strong application was never the real challenge. They had the potential, but often lacked the resources, information, exposure, and confidence required to imagine themselves at the world’s most competitive universities, much less build the years of academic and extracurricular preparation necessary to become compelling candidates.

COLUMBIA ENGINEERING
Civil, Earth & Environmental Engineering by training
MANAGEMENT CONSULTANT
Former Boston Consulting Group (BCG) consultant
$17M
Scholarships earned by students supported through ProDuca

That reality is what led Lara to study the admissions process at the most selective universities in extraordinary depth. During the first years of her work, institutions with acceptance rates below 5% were not simply aspirational choices. For many of the students she supported, they were among the only universities capable of offering enough financial aid to make studying in the United States possible.

When Lara says that she specializes in the most selective universities in the world, she means it: this is where her work began, and where the stakes taught her that exceptional mentorship must extend far beyond the application itself.

After mentoring through nonprofit organizations, Lara founded ProDuca in 2017 to expand that work. She managed more than 30 mentors concurrently and helped support the educational journeys of thousands of students who have collectively earned more than $17 million in scholarships.

What Lara brings as a mentor

Today, Lara brings her background in management consulting, engineering, and published scientific research to every student she mentors. She applies structured frameworks, quantitative thinking, and strategic storytelling to help students transform their interests and strengths into thoughtful academic, extracurricular, and professional action plans.

Yet the rigor of her approach has never made the work impersonal. As Lara often says, “Every application feels like my own child’s application.” She understands what education can change because it changed her own life first.

Outside of mentorship, Lara is a cat mom, ballroom dancer, passionate backgammon player, and perpetually curious about neuroscience books and podcasts.

Marah Selim

Marah Selim

Mentor & Founding Partner of The Ivy Centre, Psychology & Student Development

Cornell University Alumna

There’s a moment when a student stops describing who they think they should be and starts discovering who they actually are. Helping them explore, question, and make sense of that process is one of the most meaningful parts of my job!

Where psychology meets mentorship

Marah is a founding partner at The Ivy Centre. She is completing her PhD in Counseling Psychology and has been trained in psychotherapy techniques for over five years, as she also teaches a Human Development course at the University of Miami.

She brings this perspective into her work with students by helping them better understand their interests, responses to pressure, and larger decisions about college and their future careers within a developmental framework. Marah guides students in utilizing this reflection to pave a more sustainable way forward in managing both the emotional and organizational demands of the admissions process.

The goal is not simply to manage the admissions process, but to help students understand themselves well enough to move through it with greater clarity.

Building systems that support the student

Marah has helped students develop personalized executive functioning systems that allow them to focus on what matters most while building confidence in their ability to follow through on their goals, including students with executive functioning challenges, including Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

CORNELL
Psychology
PHD CANDIDATE
Counseling Psychology
5+ YEARS
Psychotherapy Training
EDUCATOR
Human Development

From reflection to action

She integrates these reflective and organizational skills into the admissions advisory process, and returns to them during the three additional Landing Sessions once a student has begun their first semester of college.

Marah’s aim is to match students with their dream school and to develop the skills and sense of direction that will allow them to thrive on campus, and well beyond college.

Getting into college is one milestone. Knowing how to navigate what comes next is part of the work too.

Beyond The Ivy Centre

Outside of her work at the Ivy Centre, which she already enjoys a fair amount, Marah plays tennis and backgammon and loves a good film.

Jorge Dorantes, MD

Jorge Dorantes, MD

Mentor & Founding Partner of The Ivy Centre, Humanities, Medicine & STEM Nexus Strategy

Cornell University Alumnus

There will always be people ready to hand you a mold for what a successful life is supposed to look like. But some of the most important growing up happens when you become brave enough to question it and curious enough to discover what a fulfilling life looks like for you.

A unique perspective

Dr. Dorantes is a resident surgeon and an award-winning musician, writer, and researcher. His essays and research have been published in prestigious journals such as The American Journal of Surgery and the Journal of Surgical Case Reports (JSCR), published by Oxford University Press. He has won multiple piano composition awards, including recognition as a national semi-finalist through the Michigan Federation of Music at the age of eight. More recently, he placed as a national semi-finalist in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom short story competition. He continues to play jazz piano and is currently at work on a screenplay.

Jorge’s path reflects the power of pursuing multiple interests with intention, and the possibility of a life that brings them together.

Helping students explore what matters

With a background in philosophy, with a focus on Ancient Greek Philosophy, and an English literature major from Cornell University, Dr. Dorantes brings a humanities lens to the admissions process. He helps students think critically, ask deeper questions, and articulate their ideas with clarity, whether in their essays, interviews, or broader academic exploration.

RESIDENT SURGEON
Medicine
AWARD-WINNING MUSICIAN
Piano & Composition

From ideas to impact

Jorge works with students through the Medicine Workshop, the STEM program, and the Ivy Lab Essay Workshops, where he helps them develop a personal voice, connect seemingly different interests, and build a compelling narrative for their future.

He also brings a clinical perspective to discussions about how to navigate high-pressure environments, make thoughtful decisions, and stay grounded during demanding periods like college applications and the transition to college itself.

His goal is to help students discover a love for lifelong learning and expression, and to give them the tools to turn curiosity into meaningful opportunities.

Beyond The Ivy Centre

Outside of his work at The Ivy Centre, Jorge continues to play jazz piano, explore new creative projects, and enjoy a good film. He remains deeply committed to the belief that the humanities and the sciences together can shape a richer, more thoughtful, and more human future.

WRITER & RESEARCHER
Published Author
CORNELL
Philosophy & English Literature
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