Parent partners you can trust.
We love locking arms with parents to facilitate growth in students!
Integrity. Authenticity. Equity.
If reading a college essay about Rooted, I would expect these three core values to shine through. The first part of coaching focuses on identifying each student’s foundational drivers, the things that help them convey who they are and want to be. It’s not enough to name these things. A student has to be positioned to apply the lessons they’ve learned in how they’ve been raised to pursue a rooted life.
Learn more about the hearts behind Rooted below!
FOUNDER & LEAD COUNSELOR, CERTIFIED IN COLLABORATIVE COACHING
Karman Kent, MA
Karman has 20 years of experience working with and supporting families of 14-22-year-olds. She has been reading applications for undergraduate admissions and conducting interviews for the nation’s most selective scholarship programs, including the Morehead-Cain, Gates Foundation, and James B. Duke Scholarships, since 2010. She served on High School Advisory Boards at Furman University, Mercer University, and Belmont University.
She holds a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from The University of Louisville, where she was a graduate assistant for the Carolina Covenant in the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid at UNC-Chapel Hill and served as a Peer Advisor in the College of Education and Human Development.
Karman holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology from Kalamazoo College, where she played Division III Varsity Volleyball and Varsity Softball and taught through the Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca.
Jenn Groff
Jenn leads our 9th and 10th graders through foundational exercises to keep students engaged and on track. Her Clifton Strengths show the value she places on developing students, making connections, and doing so with empathy. This preliminary work with Jenn sets students up for a smooth transition into working with Karman Kent, leading into the Junior year of high school.
Jenn studied Education and Psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her 20 years of experience in education include time in Costa Rica and New Jersey before settling in North Carolina, tutoring and differentiating instruction for students with learning differences as a Learning Specialist.
Jenn is also the parent of a rising senior navigating this process. She has enjoyed the college search process, personally experiencing the incredible value that Karman brings to families navigating the college search. She looks forward to helping students and families on their own college search journey.
ASSOCIATE COUNSELOR FOR 9th/10th and CERTIFIED LIFE COACH
SENIOR ESSAY COACH
Angel S. Brown
Angel S. Brown is a storyteller, writer, and educator who believes that stories shape everything. Her story begins in Houston, Texas, as the child of Jamaican immigrants in a single-parent household. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Duke University, where she competed as a Division I Women's Lacrosse goalkeeper— earning an ACC Top 6 for Service and three consecutive All-ACC Honor Roll awards. Angel became the first female recipient of the Duke Athletics Heidrick Leadership Postgraduate Scholarship for demonstrated leadership, character, and community service. She went on to earn a Master's in Biomedical Sciences from Duke University School of Medicine.
For the past fifteen years, Angel has been rooted in Durham, North Carolina, where her work has spanned institutional equity education, community organizing, neighborhood stewardship, and storytelling consulting. She has served as a Duke Alumni Admissions Interviewer.
As an emerging author, Angel has been awarded competitive mentorships, fellowships, and residencies in support of her journey to literary publishing. Her creative work centers on crafting narratives that spark compassion, confidence, and consciousness in readers of all ages.
Through her values of dignity, community, and love, Angel cultivates a legacy of generational impact. She looks forward to coaching students to discover and strengthen their authentic voice, build confidence as writers, and develop storytelling skills that extend far beyond the college application.
Qualified and competent
In building a relationship that directs value-based decision-making, Rooted commits to the following aspirations:
To further develop skills to be successful college students, productive community members, and lifelong learners.
To reflect an inclusive process that will value, affirm, and respect each individual as an independent adult.
To promote the growth and development of the student as a whole person.
Both Karman and Jenn have extensive training in collaborative coaching methods and leadership development
Professional affiliations
Giving back to the Community
To live in accordance with our values, we also support lower-income students and those who will be the first generation to attend college. Access to high-quality services to support all students is crucial to success, which is why we are committed to supporting organizations like The Emily Krzyzewski Center and initiatives like The Matchlighters program. Karman also volunteers her time as an application reader and interviewer for the Gates Scholarship, a highly selective scholarship covering the full cost of attendance for outstanding high school seniors from low-income households across the country. If you’re interested in having Karman speak at a community event, please send us an email with more information.