The Uncommon Team
Maggie O’Brien | She/They
Founder & Pathway Counselor
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Maggie O’Brien is a queer writer, artist, and educator who grew up outside of Boston and now lives in the Berkshires. She founded Uncommon Futures to reimagine college and career planning, and to encourage people to think deeply, tell their stories, and follow unconventional paths.
Maggie has coached dozens of students through the college application process on their way to some of the country’s top schools, and has worked for the Admissions Office of a selective liberal arts school, a college access non-profit, and College Essay Guy. Maggie also has a decade of experience working in the outdoor industry as a guide, program developer, and risk management advisor for organizations like Overland Summers and Women’s Wilderness, and deeply values experiential education and real-world immersion. In all her work, Maggie supports her students through genuine connection and a keen understanding of diversity and belonging.
Maggie has her B.A. from Colorado College in Creative Writing for Social Change, attended the Traveling School semester program in high school, and went on a gap year in Nepal before starting college. Her writing has been recognized by nationally acclaimed publications, and her creative work has brought her to public radio production, museum design, story slamming, ceramics, and more. You’ll usually find her hiking in New England forests, doing yoga, watching live music, and drinking tea.
Wayan Buschman | She/Her
Community Outreach
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Wayan Buschman (pronounced “why-ON”) is an artist, writer, tutor, and educator, with a background working in the Semester School Network. She was born and raised in New York City, which is also where she lives currently.
Wayan’s background in one-on-one mentorship started during her undergraduate years at Colorado College. While Wayan studied for her BA in English literature, she worked as a writing consultant at the Ruth Barton Writing Center, where she helped to brainstorm and workshop papers with students across all disciplines.
After graduation, she worked at the High Mountain Institute in Leadville, CO as the English Apprentice. She then made the leap to Napa, California, where she served as the Humanities Teacher at the Oxbow School for Art and Academics. Outside of formal classes at Oxbow, Wayan arranged exploratory college prep electives, college essay writing workshops, and art portfolio critiques. Wayan still teaches and tutors in the virtual sphere and, when she’s not working, you can find her playing off-key banjo tunes, drawing comics, and reading short stories.
Alex Tomb | She/Her
Pathway Counselor | Focus: Gap Year
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Alex Tomb is an accomplished wilderness educator, world traveler, and wildlife ecologist who grew up in both Southern California and Connecticut. For now, she’s made her home in the forests of Northern California.
With nearly a decade of international travel experience spanning 26 countries and four continents, Alex brings firsthand expertise in helping young folks design transformative and culturally immersive adventures that help them discover their authentic path forward. From conducting wildlife research in Madagascar to building homes in rural Cambodia, Alex's personal gap year experiences inform her uniquely qualified perspective on crafting life-changing gap year journeys.
Alex has spent the last three years as Head of Wilderness Leadership Expeditions at Camp Onaway, designing and leading month-long backcountry expeditions for teens. This role, combined with her position as director of the Trips Department and her work developing nature-immersion programs at White Pine Programs, has honed her ability to mentor young people through challenging transitions and growth experiences.
Alex graduated summa cum laude from Skidmore College with a B.A. in Integrative Biology, and is an alumna of the High Mountain Institute semester program. Whether she's teaching conservation in rural villages, goat-herding in the mountains of Slovenia, or walking alongside an indigenous hunter-gatherer tribe, Alex intimately understands the transformative power of saying yes to the adventure of a lifetime.
Evan Doherty | She/Her
Pathway Counselor | Focus: Career & College Essays
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Evan Doherty is a Denver-based coach, artist, and wearer-of-many-hats at a startup. She is an International Coaching Federation-trained coach, with a specialty in executive functioning coaching for students.
Evan has experience coaching a wide range of clients, from high school students building organizational skills, to recent graduates planning next steps, to parents navigating major family transitions. She has also worked as a writing consultant at the Ruth Barton Writing Center, where she helped college students brainstorm, plan, and edit their writing projects.
For 6+ years, Evan has worked at an early-stage startup focused on connecting Medicaid patients to free, nutritious groceries. She’s applied her entrepreneurial spirit to her roles in marketing, program design, and project management.
At Colorado College, Evan studied Cognitive Science, a major she designed out of curiosity about how the mind works and how people learn. On the weekends, she explores Denver’s parks on rollerblades, knits colorful scarves, and makes art with friends.
Nylah Jordan | She/Her
Common Ground Mentor
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Nylah is an undergraduate student at Harvard studying Government and African American Studies with plans to pursue a language citation in Spanish. Coming from Los Angeles, she is passionate about the intersection of public policy, technology, and youth advocacy, particularly within communities of color.
As a first-generation college student, Nylah brings a deep commitment to equity and empowerment. She served as a Core Team Leader with Students Deserve, a coalition of over 1,000 students, educators, and community organizers fighting educational inequity across the Los Angeles Unified School District. She also served as a Peer Health Advocate with the Los Angeles Department of Public Health, where she led mental health initiatives and spoke at district events on issues impacting students.
Nylah is deeply committed to mentorship and community impact. She has helped numerous students navigate the college application process, offering personalized guidance on essays and applications that center their lived experiences rather than watering them down. She believes in the power of authenticity and wants every student to understand the value of their story and background.
In her free time, Nylah loves playing tennis, singing, drinking matcha lattes, creating content, listening to music, and spending time with friends.
Tom Thorpe | He/Him
Pathway Counselor | Focus: College, Gap, Career
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Tom Thorpe served as co-founder and Director of the REDI Lab (Research, Entrepreneurship, Design, and Inquiry) at Colorado Academy from 2016-2026, where he also taught high school English and served as an administrator. A passionate educator and innovator, Tom previously co-founded Fleissig Design, a firm specializing in design thinking and strategy to help organizations develop creative solutions through essential processes and systems.
Before establishing himself in Denver, Tom taught English and History at New Canaan Country School in Connecticut. He holds a BA in Social/Cultural Anthropology and Religious Studies from Connecticut College and an MA in Teaching with an emphasis on secondary school curriculum and instruction from Fairfield University.
As a facilitator at national and international conferences for schools, organizations, and companies worldwide, Tom brings the art of storytelling to unlock new possibilities. An early riser who appreciates quality coffee, Tom finds joy in time spent with family, friends, and colleagues while working diligently to make a meaningful impact. Driven by a desire to highlight our shared humanity, he approaches challenges with optimism and a firm belief that creativity can solve most problems.
Silas Mead | He/Him
Pathway Counselor | Focus: College Essays & Career
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Silas Mead is a coach, mentor, environmental advocate, and lifelong generalist living in Denver, Colorado. His work focuses on youth empowerment and the myriad paths that we can take to redefine what success looks like.
Silas grew up on an intentional community in rural Vermont. After attending the High Mountain Institute in high school, he was drawn to the mountains and attended Colorado College, graduating with a BA in History. During college, Silas ignited his interest in coaching young people by leading a mentorship program for underserved children in the community and coaching competitive youth soccer.
Since graduation, Silas worked extensively in the solar industry, travelled across 5 continents, and worked seasonally in Alaska before settling back in Denver. These life experiences have taught him to empower students to pursue their own path and amplify their unique voice. In his free time, you’ll find Silas intently studying maps, joking with friends, and exploring the mountains.
Mariah Cornejo | She/Her
Common Ground Mentor
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Mariah Cornejo is an undergraduate at Harvard College studying Social Studies and Global Health with a strong interest in law and Spanish. Originally from Yakima, Washington, she is the proud daughter of Peruvian-Mexican parents and a first-generation college student. Her lived experience navigating elite institutions while staying grounded in her community drives her commitment to equity, access, and public service.
Mariah began her policy journey interning for her city’s legal department, where she supported municipal court operations and shadowed prosecutors. At Harvard, she’s continued to explore intersections of identity, justice, and media, studying everything from behavioral economics to government policy.
As a mentor and advocate, Mariah is passionate about helping students from rural, working-class, and BIPOC backgrounds see their stories as assets, not obstacles. She has guided peers through college and scholarship applications. She believes in the power of authenticity and wants every student to feel ownership of their path forward.
Outside of academics, Mariah loves lifting weights, hiking, hot pilates, drinking coffee, researching creepy digital rabbit holes, and journaling in Spanglish.