Eli Clarke
Director of College Counseling
Commonwealth Academy (VA)

What drew you to the world of college admission counseling?
I grew up in a family of educators, including some very strong women in the education field. My mom was a high school and middle school teacher, my grandmother was a librarian, and one of my aunts was a school counselor. It was strongly instilled in me that education was very important and needed to be something that was lifelong. As a young kid, I hated when my mom assigned me my own “summer reading” and made me take classes to enrich my study skills. (I mean c’mon, I just want to go outside…I already did school!) But it taught me that exercising your brain is just as important as playing around. I may not have liked it at the time, but I appreciate it now.

After graduating college, I needed to find a job (mom and dad were not for paying anything else at that point). I had no idea what “admissions” did at my alma mater (I was more a residential life person) but after graduating from Loyola University New Orleans I stayed in the city (I mean who would want to leave New Orleans in their 20s?). A friend of mine who shared a house with me that summer used to work in admissions. She urged me to apply, so I did and luckily got the job!

Fast forward to 34 years later — eight in university admission and 26 in college counseling — and I am still going strong. Sometimes when things just happen in your life and you take a chance, it can be a pretty amazing experience.

What is your favorite part of the job? 
I think we all say this, but it is working with the students. They energize me and give me a strong sense of purpose. I love empowering students who think that college is unreachable for whatever reason. When they do ultimately see a path to higher education, you can see major shift in the way they view themselves and in the way they see their future. It is so inspiring and further shows me the importance of the kind of work we all do on behalf of these young people and their families.

I also have to add that I love working with parents. There are those challenging moments, but I always say that I know parents are trying to advocate the best way they know for their students. Their delivery isn’t always the best, but it’s the intention I respect.

How has NACAC played a role in your career?
Being part of NACAC has been an amazing enhancement for my professional career. I distinctly remember my very first conference in 1998 at San Francisco. It opened my eyes to the professional opportunities that would become a major part of my career (and allowed me to gush over that year’s conference speaker/my first crush, Greg Louganis)! NACAC has allowed me to connect with friends both new and long-standing. It has also inspired me to join and work on the regional level, which in return provided so many enriching opportunities. From speaking at conferences and helping with college fairs, to being on the Local Arrangements Committee at Baltimore in 2023, every experience has been a way to deepen my connection to those who share my vision for our students and their world.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing our profession today? 
I feel that higher education in general is under attack in many ways. Most concerning to me are the students who have worked hard to attend college but cannot realistically afford to enroll. If we do not provide access and opportunity to every student who deserves a chance to attend college, higher education will increasingly become a privilege reserved only for those who can afford it. In my opinion, that shift threatens efforts to make education as accessible as possible. I personally think that when financial resources are the biggest challenge facing a young person’s future, we should do everything in our power to help them.

When you aren’t working, what do you like to do?
When am I not working??! I love to read, travel, work with my husband on our new house, and just be with my friends. I’m also loving playing Hogwarts Legacy right now…sooooo fun! Yeah, I finally embraced that I am a big video game nerd…Looking back when I first started playing on my Atari 400 game console (and a marathon Asteroid game with a friend of mine one day), I recently realized how I love playing all kinds of video games.

If you could be any fictional character, who would it be and why?
I have been enamored with James Bond ever since I was a little kid. His wit, determination, and charisma really drew me in and made me want to become someone who traveled and experienced as much as life as possible. I don’t know how well his persona has held up in our current world, but I love a good spy story!

Published June 23, 2025