All About the Lumiere Excellence in Counseling Awards

If you’re an Independent Educational Consultant, you already know that a lot of your most important work isn’t very visible. The real impact often shows up in long conversations with students, careful planning behind the scenes, and steady guidance over months or years. It’s meaningful work, but it’s not always easy to explain or showcase, especially to families who are trying to compare counselors online.

In a field built on trust, credibility matters. Parents and students are often looking for signals that help them feel confident in their choice, whether that’s experience, clear values, or recognition from within the profession. Awards and professional acknowledgements can play a role here not as a badge for its own sake, but as one way to communicate the quality and seriousness of your work.

Most IECs in the space are familiar with established organizations like the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), and the International Career and College Counseling Movement (IC3). Recognition connected to groups like these has traditionally helped set standards in the field and highlight counselors who are contributing thoughtfully to student outcomes.

Why did we launch the Lumiere Excellence in Counseling Award for IECs?  

At Lumiere, we work closely with a wide range of IECs across regions and student populations. One thing we see consistently is that many counselors doing deeply impactful work are also the least likely to put themselves forward. They prioritize accessibility, ethics, and student focused decision making, even though that kind of impact is harder to summarize on a website or LinkedIn profile.

The Lumiere Excellence in Counseling Award was created with that impact in mind.

An IEC award can build your credibility with students and parents, helping you work with more students in the future. Families searching for consultants often use professional recognition as a deciding factor, so an award is a great addition to your website, LinkedIn, and resume. Being spotlighted by an award (such as this one) can make more students and parents aware of your counseling, and the visibility can lead to future professional collaborations and opportunities. Some IEC awards even offer grants and professional development resources that can enhance your practice!

In this blog, we’ll review our award for IECs: the Lumiere Excellence in Counseling Award. Launched in the 2025-2026 academic year, we introduced this award to spotlight outstanding educational consultants who are transforming how students approach college planning. Through this award, we recognize top counselors across the world. Whether you’re a counselor with years of experience or one just starting out in their practice, this award is a great way to get noticed. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk through everything you need to know about the award, from eligibility and deadlines to application tips that will help your nomination stand out.

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If you’re looking to access more free resources for IECs, such as tips on growing your business, upcoming conferences, tools and tech stacks, as well as marketing tips, check out our collection of blogs curated specifically for educational consultants here!

What is the Lumiere Excellence in Counseling Award’s mission?

When we launched this award, the Lumiere Excellence in Counseling Award’s mission was to “celebrate those who bring light to the student journey.” This award recognizes and honors independent educational consultants who are making a meaningful difference in the lives of students and families. The award focuses exclusively on IECs, counselors who work privately with students and families outside of traditional school settings. Whether you're a full-time independent consultant or work part-time while maintaining other roles, if you advise students independently, this award is designed with you in mind.

The award has two categories: the Lifetime Counselor Award and the Emerging Counselor Award. 

1. The Lifetime Counselor Award recognizes counselors with more than 4 years of experience who have created long-term impact in the field. The winner receives a $500 professional development grant, spotlights in Lumiere’s blog, newsletter, and social media, and a full scholarship for one of their students to participate in Lumiere’s flagship mentored research program. 

2. The Emerging Counselor Award recognizes counselors with less than 4 years of experience in the field who use innovative strategies to guide students to success. The winner of this award receives spotlights in Lumiere’s blog, newsletter, and social media, and one full scholarship to Lumiere’s research program. 

Who Can Apply for the Award?

The award is open to all independent educational consultants globally. You must have actively supported students in the past 12–24 months. Additionally, if you work as an individual counselor within a larger organization but conduct advisory work with students, you may apply. 

Eligibility summary:

• You work independently as an educational consultant (full-time or part-time)

• You have actively supported students in the past 12–24 months

• You advise students outside of a traditional school setting

• You work with families privately on college admissions and related guidance

• You're based anywhere in the world

Counselors with less than 4 years of experience may apply to the Emerging Counselor award, while IECs with more experience can apply for the Lifetime Counselor award. You can nominate yourself, or someone else can nominate you. 

You can be nominated by fellow IECs, school counselors, parents, or students. Each nominator can submit up to 2 award nominations per nominee.  

How Much Does it Cost to Apply?

Participation in the Lumiere Excellence in Counseling Awards is completely free. There are no nomination fees or charges of any kind. The award aims to give all consultants, regardless of their business size or revenue, an equal opportunity to be recognized.​

When is the Deadline to Apply?

The deadline to submit your nomination is January 11, 2026. That gives you a window from the award's November 2025 launch through mid-January to prepare and submit your application. If you're interested in applying, mark this date on your calendar and begin gathering materials that highlight your accomplishments and impact.​

What Should the Application Include?

To submit a nomination, you have to complete this short form that asks for key details such as your organization, country, and the number of students you’ve worked with in the past academic year. In the ‘Additional Comments’ section, you can highlight the work you do with students, the outcomes you've achieved, and the innovative approaches you bring to college counseling.​

The best applications tell a compelling, well-supported narrative that illustrates your counseling impact. Rather than a list of accomplishments, think of your application as an opportunity to show judges who you are as a counselor and why your work matters. Concrete examples and specific student outcomes can make your application stand out.

What is the Judging Criteria?

Lumiere uses five core criteria to evaluate nominations, summarized by the infographic below:

Let’s look at each criterion and how to demonstrate it in more detail:

1. Leadership: This dimension recognizes consultants who mentor emerging IECs and shape the broader college counseling profession. Leadership can take many forms: hosting professional development sessions, contributing to industry conversations, or building community among fellow consultants.​

2. Student Impact: The award prioritizes documented outcomes that reflect student success and growth. This might include college acceptances to competitive schools, successfully overcoming specific challenges, meaningful personal development, or evidence that your guidance created positive change in students' lives.​

3. Innovation: Excellence in counseling often comes from creative approaches. Whether you've developed a unique counseling methodology or responded effectively to changing trends in college admissions, this criterion rewards consultants who push the field forward.​

4. Community Engagement: Consultants who strengthen professional networks, contribute to the broader college counseling ecosystem, or engage meaningfully with families and communities demonstrate a commitment that extends beyond individual clients. This might include collaboration with schools, participation in professional organizations, or advocacy work.​

5. Storytelling: Finally, judges value how effectively you communicate your impact. A well-crafted narrative that is supported by evidence helps judges understand the depth and breadth of your work.​

Who are the Awards' Judges?

Lumiere has assembled a panel of accomplished professionals to evaluate nominations for the 2025-2026 award cycle. Here are the judges and their professional backgrounds:

1. Ramya Modukuri is a member of the International Association for College Admissions Counseling (IACAC), a winner of the 2020 Emerging Counselor of the Year award by the IC3 conference, and an MBA graduate from NYU Stern. She has two decades of experience in the field. 

2. Gina Lee is the 2023 recipient of IECA's Making a Difference Award and the founder of Gina B. Lee Consulting. Lee began her career as a school counselor and has since worked with hundreds of students. 

3. Michael Trevino is a former Director of Undergraduate Admissions for the University of California system and the Principal Consultant at Fiat Lux Educational Consulting. He guides students applying to undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools.  

When Will the Results be Announced?

All nominations will be assessed by a shortlisting committee. The shortlist will be announced on February 1, 2026. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed about their work with students and their approach to counseling. 

After the interview round, a group of finalists will be considered by the judges' panel. The winners of the Lumiere Excellence in Counseling Awards will be announced on February 11, 2026. 

Tips to Ace Your Nomination

Submitting a strong nomination requires thoughtful preparation, but the effort is well worth the potential payoff. Here are some strategies to make your application stand out:

1. Tell a compelling origin story. Start your narrative by explaining what drew you to college counseling and why this work matters to you personally. Judges want to understand your motivation. Consider sharing a brief experience that crystallized your commitment to this work.

2. Quantify your impact where possible. Don't just say "my students get into great colleges,” provide specific data. How many students have you advised? What percentage were admitted to their first-choice schools or reach schools? Have any of your students received significant scholarships? 

3. Feature specific student success stories. While maintaining confidentiality, highlight 2-3 examples of students whose lives you've genuinely impacted. Did you help a first-generation student navigate an unfamiliar process? Did you guide a student through overcoming a significant challenge? Did you identify a unique strength that helped a student craft a powerful application? 

4. Highlight your unique approach. What sets you apart from other IECs? Do you use a proprietary counseling framework? Have you developed tools or resources that other consultants admire? Are you an early adopter of best practices in college counseling? Describe what makes your practice distinctive and why those differences matter for student outcomes.

5. Demonstrate your contribution to the broader community. Show how you give back to the field. Are you a mentor to newer IECs? Do you contribute to professional conversations through writing, speaking, or participation in organizations? Have you advocated for issues affecting college access or counseling? 

6. Connect your work to each judging criterion. Rather than assuming judges will make connections, be strategic about addressing the five criteria throughout your narrative. Use subheadings or clear transitions to show how your work demonstrates leadership, creates student impact, reflects innovation, and engages your community. 

7. Be specific about challenges you've overcome. If you've faced obstacles in building your practice or serving particular student populations, describe how you addressed them. Have you worked to increase access for underrepresented students? Have you adapted your approach during challenging periods? Judges appreciate consultants who show resilience.

8. Include concrete examples of your counseling methods. Describe a specific counseling technique, framework, or conversation structure that you use. Explain why you chose that approach and what it accomplishes. This level of detail demonstrates professional depth and helps judges understand the caliber of your work.

9. Proofread meticulously. Your application is a reflection of your professionalism and attention to detail. Errors and typos can undermine an otherwise strong nomination. Read your application multiple times, ask a trusted colleague to review it, and use editing tools to catch mistakes. 

10. Highlight your professional development. Show that you are continually investing in improving your craft. Do you attend workshops, conferences, or pursue additional certifications in college counseling or student advocacy? Share any initiatives you've undertaken to stay ahead of industry trends, and demonstrate your commitment to being at the forefront of the field. 

The Lumiere Excellence in Counseling Award represents a meaningful opportunity for IECs to gain formal recognition and increase their professional visibility. By submitting a thoughtful, well-crafted nomination that honestly represents your commitment to your students and profession, you can position yourself well to win an industry honor. Whether you're an established practitioner looking to formalize your reputation or an emerging consultant building your profile, this award offers a platform to celebrate your work.

One other option—the Lumiere Research Scholar Program

If you know a high schooler interested in pursuing independent research, consider applying to one of the Lumiere Research Scholar Programs, selective online high school programs for students founded with researchers at Harvard and Oxford. Last year, we had over 4,000 students apply for 500 spots in the program! You can find the application form here, check out students’ reviews of the program here and here.

Also check out the Lumiere Research Inclusion Foundation, a non-profit research program for talented, low-income students. Last year, we had 150 students on full need-based financial aid!

Stephen is one of the founders of Lumiere and a Harvard College graduate. He founded Lumiere as a PhD student at Harvard Business School. Lumiere is a selective research program where students work 1-1 with a research mentor to develop an independent research paper.

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