M-A alum Carrie Jorgenson is co-founder of Early Bird, a college admissions platform

It was an experience at her alma mater — Menlo-Atherton High School — that planted the seed for Carrie Jorgenson  to start Early Bird.

“During my junior year, I was in a Leadership class where there was an exercise where you took one step forward if you lived in a house, one step back is you lived in an apartment, along with a number of similar divergent paths. Seeing how divided the room became left a huge impression on me.

“So you could say the genesis for Early Bird started in that classroom at M-A.”

Begun earlier this year with co-founder Jessica Shearon, Early Bird is designed to take the complexity out of the college admissions process, providing a solution for parents, kids — and guidance counselors — from aspiration to admissions. As Carrie describes it: “Leveraging the right tools for the right fit.”

Early Bird website tools like the Builder Fit Finder Survey helps applicants and their parents show where there is alignment — and mis-alignment.

“Getting positive feedback is what keeps my fire going,” says Carrie. “Our focus is on where kids will thrive.”

Photos of college kids and Carrie Jorgenson courtesy of Early Bird