"Very helpful and willing to guide you through the process of college applications and scholarships."

"Amazing and understanding!"

"Anyone who gets the pleasure to be mentored by or work alongside Marlene will get to see what a patient person she is. As her mentee, her commitment to helping me during my college application process is something that I am eternally grateful of."

"Marlene is an amazing mentor. She works exceptionally well with students to develop essays & prepare their applications. You would be lucky to work with her!"

"Amazing mentor! Incredibly patient and willing to help you achieve your biggest goals."

"Marlene is an amazing individual and really cares about anyone she meets! "

"Excellent person and professional"

"Incredibly helpful with navigating potential school, opportunities and finding ways to help improve my skills. "

"Marlene mentored me through my college admissions process. Through our journey together, she has displayed a profound sense of professionism and character. She has something that I often find lacking in others: authenticity. She is collaborative and empathetic, timly and well-organized, and knows how to eloquently and succinctly express information and opinions in a manner that fosters growth and progression. Her ability to help me review my writing is also exceptional, which leads me to know that her ability to write is better than I can imagine.

Marlene helped make my college admissions process feel streamlined, and I would endorse her a thousand times over. I really appreciated every she has done for me, and I know she'd be phenomenal wherever she finds herself."

"Marlene is an incredible mentor and public speaker!"

"Marlene DeZarraga is an amazing person who helps those who are lost during the college application process, specially does who are first generation. She guides us and makes us feel prepared. "

"Awesome advisor"

"Marlene is a highly intelligent and motivated person who is always seeking ways to help others improve their lives."

"Marlene is a an incredible person! Happy to collaborate with her anytime"

"Marlene is a wonderful, compassionate person and helped me find resources and support during a very challenging time. She is hard-working, reliable and compassionate-truly an asset to any organization."

"I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside Marlene through our scholarship committee, and I can honestly say she is one of the most remarkable people I’ve come across in this kind of work.

What stands out about Marlene is how deeply she cares about students, not just in a general way, but in a personal, consistent way. She doesn’t simply show up for meetings or lend her name to a cause. She takes the time to truly mentor young people, to check in on them, to encourage them, and to make sure they feel supported as they navigate some of the most important decisions of their lives.

I’ve watched her guide countless students with a level of attention and compassion that goes far beyond what is expected. She treats their success as something that genuinely matters to her, and it shows in everything she does.

Marlene also puts real action behind her commitment. Not only is incredibly generous with her time, she has also stepped forward with meaningful financial support to ensure students actually have the opportunities they are working toward. That combination of involvement and follow-through is rare.

Any program or organization would benefit from having Marlene as part of its mission and would be lucky to have someone like her, someone who brings real heart, credibility, and dedication to this work.


"

"Very helpful and attentive!"

"She’s extremely helpful, I never would’ve imagined I would’ve made it this far and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without her, she’s given me opportunities and helped me succeed in ways that’ll change the rest of my life and career and I’ll always be thankful for all the help and support she’s given me"

"She’s an amazing person and helped me a lot through my college applications process!! She helped me do my essays and guided me through college applications process, I’m so grateful for all her support."

"As my former ScholarMatch coach, she was very helpful, patient, and conscientious. She helped me navigate the college application process when I had nowhere else to turn, and thanks to her efforts, I'm currently attending a college with all expenses covered. "

"Marlene is truly amazing. She’s incredibly professional, an expert at what she does, and genuinely kind. She went above and beyond to help me with my college applications, and I honestly don’t know what I would have done without her. She was always supportive, patient, and willing to move mountains to help me reach my goals. I’m so grateful for her guidance and highly recommend her to anyone who needs help with the college process."

"Marlene is splendid. She helped me out through my college applications. She was very thoughtful and detailed. Always provided feedback on my essays. She’s above and beyond and I would recommend her over and over. 🙌🏻"

"Marlene is an amazing human being. She guided me on my college application journey. She was a great support for me as a first-generation college student. I fully endorse her and recommend her to anyone. "

"Marlene is dedicated, committed, and a pleasure to work with. She puts passion into everything she does and is consistently motivated to help others."

"Marlene is a great academic mentor that helped find many opportunities to further my education. She was instrumental to my success as now a recent mechanical engineer grad from Miami"

"I've been working with Marlene for the past three years on college applications and scholarships, and I'm forever grateful for everything she's done for me. I don't think I would've made it to Johns Hopkins without her guidance and support. "

"Marlene was amazing! Very helpful with my college list building. "

"Marlene was an incredible advisor and a constant source of support for me. She helped me whenever I had questions and guided through the college application process. I truly credit Marlene with helping me get accepted into college. She helped me strengthen my application, gave thoughtful feedback, and encouraged me throughout the process. Her support made a real difference."

"Marlene is the person I personally credit with getting me accepted into college. She worked with me to refine my application to MDC Honors over the course of weeks, and she also gave advice and helped me practice for mock interviews."

"Marlene has been a great advisor and a big help! She has guided me and answered my questions whenever I needed help with school or College Applications. Thank you, Marlene! :)"

"Marlene has been so helpful in my journey leading up to college and still now, two years in. She has reached out to me with opportunities that I would be interested in and advice for my academic career. I am so grateful for her help and her continued support."