Q&A with New CEO, Margaret Bolton Baudinet

We did a sit-down interview with our new thirty-something CEO.  

Originally from Alabama, Margaret has an interesting background with a great deal to offer College Solutions and its clients.

Tell us how you got involved with College Solutions.

I met the founder and former CEO of College Solutions, Larry Dannenberg, when my husband was attending Harvard Law School.  I started at College Solutions as an essay writing coach and then worked my way up to a counselor and then Managing Director and now CEO.  I’ve loved each role for different reasons, but given my love of creative writing, I really enjoy the essay process every year—it’s like the holiday season for me!  

Where did you choose to go to college?

I am embarrassed to tell my students that I only applied to one school and I applied early decision.  This, of course, was to my love and my alma mater—the University of Virginia.  If you’ve ever met me and we talk about UVA for an extended period of time, you know that this institution opened my eyes toward the true meaning of learning.  I learned alongside some scholars of my lifetime who are now working in orphanages, financial centers, newsrooms, and hospitals around the world.  I was both inspired and compelled by these peers to work harder and smarter.

UVA wouldn’t have been possible, though, without my parents and the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. This scholarship organization truly converted dreams of a quality education into reality.

My high school was not equipped to teach AP classes, so to be able to attend a college like the University of Virginia with the help of Coca Cola was an opportunity I’ll never forget.  I’ll never be able to thank them for the quality learning experience I was lucky enough to receive.

What was your favorite class in college?

UVA thrives as a center of interdisciplinary learning.  I loved that.  I wanted to take a class on the political novel—novels that contributed to political movements (think Uncle Tom’s Cabin, The Women’s Room, etc).  UVA did not teach such a class, so they allowed me to create my own class and choose a professor to work with me on this endeavor.  When I did so, this professor helped me choose a reading list and then told me to read the books, write a paper every week, and then come help him walk his dog around “Grounds” (campus) every week.  That would be our class.  It was inspiring and challenging—all because I was driving the curriculum (and the dog leash).  It was perfect.

Why have you chosen this career?

I truly enjoy helping people.  From helping someone find the right soup at the grocery store to helping my toddler make a birds nest out of PlayDoh, I like to help.  That’s part of who I am.

This job strikes at the heart of this in that I like to help support my students during this very stressful, sometimes trying, part of their lives.  I want to coach them to be the best version of themselves and to be proud of exactly who they are and what they offer to each one of their colleges.

This process can be full of heartbreak, so my servant’s heart does get broken quite often, but I truly enjoy my relationships with the families with whom I work.  I wouldn’t trade that for anything. 

Tell us about your family.

My family is an interesting story.  I married a man from Connecticut, and we’ve been married for almost ten years.  He loves Reece cups, European history, spy movies, and slapstick comedy.  He also attended UVA undergraduate with me.

After several miscarriages, we were shocked to find out in 2016 I was pregnant with quintuplets.  So, we are lucky now to have four girls and one boy who are three and a half years old.  Ava, Clara, Millie, Luke, and Isabelle make our house very (very) noisy, but full of love. We host an au pair from Thailand since I work full time for College Solutions and my husband is a full-time attorney for the federal government. 

What is your favorite memory from your college experience?

There is a tradition at UVA called “Lighting of the Lawn,” in which the community gathers at the center of Grounds to illuminate it with holiday lights.  This was my first year away from home and I was still homesick (and very overwhelmed by the intense academics I was facing).  This night of Lighting on the Lawn, I was walking to the center of Grounds with a few good friends and it started to snow.  Being from the deep south, this was the first snow I’d ever witnessed.  Watching a beautiful campus illuminate the snowy night with holiday lights, surrounded by friends who inspired and loved me–that is something I’ll never forget.

What was YOUR college essay about?

Ha.  Students rarely ask me this, actually.  So, a good question.  I was asthmatic as a child and my uncle who was a doctor would often stick my head in the freezer every time I would wake up struggling to breathe.  The cold air would reduce the inflammation in my airway and I could breathe again.  This was a simple solution to a major problem.  Given that I was interested in politics at the time of my college application, I applied this principle to my interest in social science.  I wanted to go to college to learn the intricacies of politics so that I too could learn how to find simple solutions to complex and life-altering problems. 

Moving forward, what plans do you have for College Solutions in the future?

COVID-19 has totally changed the lives of the students with whom we work.  My goal is to help them find some normalcy again and to empower them with information about each college and its plan to deal with the virus.  I have every intention of ensuring that every student finds the right social, academic, and financial fit college, even in the wake of this global pandemic.