She began her professional life as a dermatologist, but shortly after the birth of her third child, she decided to take a little time away from work to enjoy full-time motherhood. Thirteen years and a fourth child later, she had become far more interested in education than medicine and returned to school to earn a Ph.D. in that field at the College of William and Mary, where her major emphasis was in the area of gifted education and her “minor” was in higher education.

During the seven years that she studied and worked at the College of William and Mary, she had the opportunity to intern in the admissions office and later serve as Director of Precollegiate Learner Programs at the Center for Gifted Education. In 2004 she became an independent consultant. Her services include assisting individual students with educational decision-making and the college search and application process. She also developed and implemented a school-wide College Planning Program at The Governor's School for Science and Technology, a regional magnet school for high-achieving students on the Virginia Peninsula. Currently, she serves as STEM Innovation and Outreach Coordinator there, in which capacity she assists the Director with development of courses and programs that prepare students for STEM careers in traditional and emerging disciplines.

Dr. Fithian has been active in state and national educational advisory groups. She served on the Virginia Advisory Committee for Education of the Gifted for six years and was a member of the Editorial Board of Parenting for High Potential, a publication of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC).

Dr. Fithian has worked with students as close as her home town of Williamsburg, Virginia and as far away as Utah, Colorado, California... She is an enthusiastic user of Zoom, so give her a call.

To learn more about her educational philosophy, check out her free informational website for parents, The Sidelines: Parent Guide to College Admissions.