Two men helping high school students and families prepare for college
While playing paddle tennis at St. Clair Country Club a few years ago, Brad Killmeyer and Matt Sherwin discovered they had more in common than the game.
Killmeyer, a 2008 graduate of Upper St. Clair High School, graduated from Washington & Jefferson College in three years with a degree in economics.
Sherwin was the valedictorian and class president at Peters Township High School, graduating in 2001. He studied politics and biochemistry at Yale University, graduating in 2005.
Sherwin, who had worked in some far-away places such as Cambodia, Paris and the Philippines, said he returned to Pittsburgh for one very good reason: “I love Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is home and there are a lot of opportunities here and it’s changing quickly.”
Killmeyer worked as a financial advisor before the two decided to join forces in what he describes as “education-oriented entrepreneurial ventures.”
During the 2013-14 school year, Killmeyer worked through the Bradford School in Pittsburgh, giving students in several local school districts, such as Chartiers Valley, what he called a jump start to careers and college. This school year, Killmeyer branched out on his own and started Formulate Your Future, which works to get students fired up about the future. He usually spends about one hour with them.
Sherwin, along with a college friend, co-founded MyCollegeApp, which he says is an online application-enhancement system that serves to assist students with college applications and with applying for financial aid. Through MyCollegeApp, Sherwin said he works independently with high school seniors and parents online, who are applying mainly to colleges and universities in the United States, but he also helps with admission applications to school in foreign countries.
“The American university system is heads above anyone else,” Sherwin, 31, said. “There is nowhere else you want to be, but there are increasingly good opportunities overseas. The world is getting smaller.”
Each endeavor operates separately, but in conjunction with each other. Not everyone who participates in Killmeyer’s session then uses the services offered by Sherwin’s company, and vice versa. Neither has children, but each knows the difficulties of gaining admission to the college of choice, and of deciding on the ultimate career.
Killmeyer said he has another goal.
“I’m all energy,” Killmeyer said. “But I’m not big on forcing my ideals on them. I want kids to feel good about themselves.”
Both agreed they wish to give students the confidence they need and a belief in themselves.