About — U CAN College Counseling

College Counseling
is our Passion...

U CAN's Counseling Philosophy

DSC_5757 (1).jpg

Ray Marx has been the Director of College Guidance at the American School of Quito, Ecuador for the past thirteen years. During this time he has helped hundreds of students and families realize their potential and their dreams. He received his unde

Stephen Darby's roots are in Kansas City, Missouri, and he has spent the last 11 years working with students from all over the world in a variety of educational settings.  From working as a high school counselor in a US, public high school, an

Sam has been involved with International Education professional work since 2005 when he began teaching social studies at an international school in Singapore. He has supported students, parents, consultants, governments, service providers and instit

Meet the U CAN Counseling Team

The U CAN College Counseling Philosophy

U CAN counselors are committed to providing authentic, honest, and personally tailored college counseling services that are based on a best fit approach philosophy, in order to help high school students find the right environments for them to build their personal and academic futures.

U CAN was founded through the collective efforts of highly experienced High School Counselors to help provide genuine college counseling services to young people so that they can find the right environments to achieve their fullest potential.

U CAN counselors have decades of collective experience helping over 2,000 international and domestic students successfully navigate the college admissions process in a realistic, personally-tailored manner. Our counselors are current high school counselors who are fully integrated into the global counseling and university admissions communities and who have expertise you can trust with every major application and admissions system in the world.

U CAN counselors promise to help you make the sometimes complicated university exploration and application processes easier and to help you identify your best fit. Yes U CAN!

U CAN Counselors

Our highly experienced High School Counselors have over fifty years
of collective experience in global university admissions and have helped over 2,000 students from all
corners of the world achieve their post-secondary dreams. Meet the U CAN team...

DavidDavid is the Founder of U CAN and has been a high school and college counselor for almost fifteen years in international schools in China, Korea, Dubai, and in Switzerland. Over the years, David has helped hundreds of students achieve their post-secondary dreams.He received his undergraduate Bachelors degree from Indiana University, his Masters degree from The George Washington University, and eventually his college counseling certificate from UCLA. He has extensive experience in IB, AP, and British curriculum schools, having taught IB History and Geography, as well as British IGCSE History and Geography. David additionally continues to serve as an IB History Examiner.David is a proud member of the International Association for College Admissions Counseling, the International School Counselor Association, the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, and the American College Counseling Association. Outside of his work as a counselor, David enjoys cycling, tennis, fitness, as well as following his hometown Chicago White Sox baseball team. — David
David is the Founder of U CAN and has been a high school and college counselor for sixteen years in international schools in China, Korea, Dubai, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, and Oman. Over the years, David has helped hundreds of students achieve their post-secondary dreams.
He received his undergraduate Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, his Master’s degree from The George Washington University, and eventually his college counseling certificate from UCLA. He has extensive experience in IB, AP, and British curriculum schools, having taught IB History and Geography, as well as British IGCSE History and Geography. David additionally continues to serve as an IB History Examiner.
David is a proud member of the International Association for College Admissions Counseling, the International School Counselor Association, the National Association for College Admissions Counseling, and the American College Counseling Association. Outside of his work as a counselor, David enjoys cycling, tennis, fitness, as well as following his hometown Chicago White Sox baseball team.

RayRay has been the Director of College Guidance at the American School of Quito, Ecuador for the past thirteen years. During this time he has helped hundreds of students and families realize their potential and their dreams.He received his undergraduate degree from Fairfield University and then went on to earn his Masters degree at the University of Illinois and eventually earned a certificate in college counseling from UCLA.Ray has also been a highly involved member of the International Association for College Admissions Counseling, serving for eight years on their Executive Board, including being the President of the organization several years ago.In addition, he is a proud member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and he has presented at conferences all over the world as an expert on international student issues.Having lived in Ecuador for almost twenty years, Ray also ran an outdoor adventure company for many years in the Andes, specializing in high-altitude mountaineering. — Ray
Ray has been the Director of College Guidance at the American School of Quito, Ecuador for the past sixteen years. During this time he has helped hundreds of students and families realize their potential and their dreams.
He received his undergraduate degree from Fairfield University and then went on to earn his Masters's degree at the University of Illinois and eventually earned a certificate in college counseling from UCLA.
Ray has also been a highly involved member of the International Association for College Admissions Counseling, serving for eight years on their Executive Board, including being the President of the organization several years ago.
In addition, he is a proud member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and he has presented at conferences all over the world as an expert on international student issues.
Having lived in Ecuador for almost twenty years, Ray also ran an outdoor adventure company for many years in the Andes, specializing in high-altitude mountaineering.

StephenStephen roots are in Kansas City, Missouri, and he has spent the last 11 years working with students from all over the world in a variety of educational settings. From working as a high school counselor in a US, public high school, an international school in South Korea, to a boarding school in the Swiss Alps, and a major international school in Dubai, and back to a top tier international school in Switzerland, the experience he's accrued has been used to help students confidently pursue and achieve their post-secondary dreams.He received his BA in Psychology, as well as his MEd in Educational Counseling and Psychology from the University of Missouri - Columbia. As an active member of both IACAC and NACAC, Stephen attends conferences focused around university admissions as well as visits a number of university campuses each year. Outside of work, you'll find Stephen on his bicycle or traveling to snow covered mountains to hit the slopes. — Stephen
Stephen’s roots are in Kansas City, Missouri, and he has spent the last years working with students from all over the world in a variety of educational settings. From working as a high school counselor in a US, public high school, an international school in South Korea, to a boarding school in the Swiss Alps, and a major international school in Dubai, and back to a top-tier international school in Switzerland, the experience he's accrued has been used to help students confidently pursue and achieve their post-secondary dreams.
He received his BA in Psychology, as well as his MEd in Educational Counseling and Psychology from the University of Missouri - Columbia. As an active member of both IACAC and NACAC, Stephen attends conferences focused on university admissions as well as visits a number of university campuses each year. Outside of work, you'll find Stephen on his bicycle or traveling to snow-covered mountains to hit the slopes.

Sam
Sam has been involved with International Education professional work since 2005 when he began teaching social studies at an international school in Singapore. He has supported students, parents, consultants, governments, service providers and institutes of higher education around the world ever since. He has worked for 2 schools (Singapore and Hong Kong), 2 education tech companies (USA and Canada), and served on the Executive Board and a Standing Committee for 2 non-profit educational organizations (International and National). Sam embraces the perspective of making global educational opportunities available to everyone. Sam has held the position of teacher, counselor, school administrator, test coordinator, university advisor, engagement manager, account executive, director and vice president for 4 different companies and 2 non profit organizations. Sam grew up in the State of Washington, attended undergraduate studies in Idaho, obtained his Masters in Education Counseling from SUNY Buffalo while based in Singapore, was a co-director of school counseling in Hong Kong before moving to Pittsburgh, PA where he took over International Engagement work for the Duolingo English Test. Sam has a vast network in the international education/higher education and government space and seeks to meet the needs of all stakeholders involved in making the life of students better. He contributes through personalized approaches, systemic processes, and technology in efficient and compassionate ways.