IMACS parent and world-renowned college counseling expert, certified educational planner, and author of several books on such topics, Mandee Heller Adler, took the time to visit our corporate office and to write the following testimonial to express her gratitude for the role IMACS played in her daughter’s life.
As my oldest daughter, Rebecca, heads to Stanford in the fall, I am filled with conflicting emotions, including pride, fear, panic, melancholy, and confusion — sometimes all within the same minute! But I’m also filled with gratitude because it surely takes a village to raise a child.
Last week I decided to visit the IMACS corporate office in Plantation, FL, to personally thank them for the positive impact their program made on my daughter. Rebecca attended IMACS for most of her lower and middle school years, and we both are so grateful for the time she spent in the program.
While I don’t know where Rebecca would be had she not attended IMACS, I do know that her weekly math lessons created a foundation of confidence that never wavered.
Through early math enrichment, IMACS ensured that Rebecca’s formative math years were filled with accolades and honors. As she got older, she believed in her math skills and abilities, encouraging her to continue her math trajectory and never shy from a difficult class or problem.
As a bonus, IMACS made learning math fun!
As a bonus, IMACS made learning math fun! I remember getting a call from IMACS because she had missed too many classes. I told them that because Rebecca liked the classes so much, I was using IMACS as a discipline tool, an idea we mutually agreed was a foolish one.
IMACS did not make math easy. In fact, by making it difficult, she knew that math could be complex, and that it is both normal and okay, even beneficial, to be challenged. Needing more time to learn something did not mean she was incapable or less intelligent, but simply that this topic would not be quick to get through. Sharing mathematics struggles with other gifted kids taught her that everyone struggles with certain concepts and that successful students are those who can push through their challenges to find their footing. She was never made to feel unintelligent for not knowing something and was always encouraged to enjoy the process, as well as the final solution.
IMACS also helped with critical thinking, including the application of math ideas to future research endeavors. Rebecca performed independent award-winning math and science research throughout middle and high school, and her ability to analyze complex data was a direct result of her flexibility with numbers and statistics.
I thank the entire team at IMACS for their incredible curriculum and guidance, and for making a place where mathematical excellence is celebrated, encouraged, and guaranteed.
In addition to being a parent, I also run one of the world’s largest college advising businesses, International College Counselors, welcoming students from 23 states and 13 countries. We pride ourselves on treating our students like we would own our children. And, while I don’t start working with children in first and second grade, I am always quick to refer IMACS to my high school students who are looking to advance in math and computer science. By working with IMACS, I know that my students will get a quality education that meets even the most advanced student’s needs and goals. And, I think it looks awesome on a college application! Just this year, one of my IMACS students got into Carnegie Mellon for Computer Science, something I do not believe he would have accomplished without the added coursework on his schedule.
While there are many mistakes I made as a parent, I know that attending IMACS was certainly not one of them. I thank the entire team at IMACS for their incredible curriculum and guidance, and for making a place where mathematical excellence is celebrated, encouraged, and guaranteed.
Mandee Adler
International College Counselor, Founder
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