Dareen Kotob is the co-founder of Crossroads Advising, an educational consulting company that supports students in the challenging task of applying to international universities in the USA, UK, Canada, Europe, and really, everywhere! As an IB Diploma graduate, Dareen moved to London to pursue her university studies. She graduated with honors in Biomedical Sciences from King’s College London, after which she earned a master’s degree in Management from Imperial College London.

Driven by the desire to guide and help students thrive, Dareen started working as a university guidance counselor at one of the most reputable schools in Jordan in 2015. During her journey as a counselor, she developed the school’s guidance counseling curriculum and helped students identify their strengths, values, and passion. After just two years, her role expanded to include helping students find the right major and university that best fits who they are, as well as guiding them through the application process.

As a lifelong learner, Dareen knew that she had so much more to give when it came to helping others grow. In 2019, she completed her training as a life coach from Adler Graduate Professional School in Toronto, Canada. At the heart of what Dareen does is the desire to help individuals achieve meaningful and lasting change in their lives by building and developing healthy habits of mind. During her workshops and sessions at schools and universities, Dareen closely worked with students to help them strengthen their emotional and mental fitness and develop the right skills to build resilience and stay motivated!

In addition to her work with students, Dareen also has a deep passion for public speaking. Over the past years, she has conducted several motivational and inspirational talks including three TEDx Talks, “An Unforeseen Friendship with Cancer” in English and “Emotional Fitness and Overcoming Obstacles” and “What is The First Step to Success?” in Arabic. Having personally overcome severe life challenges, Dareen is impassioned to raise awareness, hope, and positivity through her superb public speaking and communication skills.

For her, what she does is much more than just a job, because she believes in the importance of human connection. Throughout her work as both an emotional fitness coach and a university counselor, she discovered great joy when working with youth. And that was the starting point of her venture to bring coaching and counseling together. By doing so, Dareen aims to help students get to know themselves on a deeper level and help them make intuitive and confident decisions about their futures.