“My parents encouraged me to go to college, but I had no guidance on it as a first-generation student,” said Dr. Erwin Hesse, Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of Admissions Gambit. Raised in a low-income, immigrant parent household, Dr. Hesse overcame various obstacles during his K-12 years. Barely graduating high school, his counselor told him his only two options were to “get a job or join the military.” Instead, Dr. Hesse enrolled at Montgomery College and earned two associates degrees, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, a masters degree from the University of Baltimore, and a doctorate in education from Johns Hopkins. Dr. Hesse has worked in admissions offices at Maryland, Johns Hopkins, and Georgetown for over a decade reviewing thousands of applications, transcripts, and essays. In his last role at Amazon, Dr. Hesse created and led a national engagement program recruiting students from minority serving institutions to coveted tech and non-tech roles.
“This grant is a game changer for our students and their families. We feel honored to receive this prestigious grant and stand ready to make an impact in our community,” said Andrea Hesse, Cofounder and Chief Operating Officer of Admissions Gambit. Of a similar background to her husband, Mrs. Hesse faced great adversity to fund her secondary education, bachelor’s degree from University of Maryland, and graduate degree from University of Baltimore. She credits her education as the stepping stone to a fulfilling career in editing, marketing, and project management. “Many counseling departments are overworked and understaffed,” details Dr. Hesse. Unfortunately, the average high school counselor to student ratio in the US is 482-to-1. Admissions Gambit provides students and their parents a year-round educational consultant. Its services include advising on course selection, extracurricular activities, internships, summer programs, college choices, mock interviews, brainstorming essay topics, essay review sessions, and any other college admissions topic.
