About the College Counselors:
Susan Staggers, Director of College Counseling, joined the Cary Academy community in 2002 having been the Director of College Counseling for ten years in independent schools in Charleston, SC; Asheville, NC; Philadelphia, PA.  Prior to her work in college counseling she was Dean of Admission at Mount Holyoke for ten years, and she also worked in college admissions for nine years at Franklin and Marshall College and Susquehanna University. Before her work in college admissions she taught high school History and Social Studies for three years in New Jersey and Georgia. She is especially glad to be back in her native North Carolina.

Mrs. Staggers received her B.A. in History from Wake Forest University, and she has done graduate work in American Studies at Pennsylvania State University.  Her husband, Joe Staggers, is a member of the history dept at CA.


Laura Sellers, Associate Director of College Counseling, came to Cary Academy in 2001.  Previously, she worked in undergraduate admissions at Duke for 11 years, serving as a senior associate director of admissions from 1997-2000.  She then spent a year working as the special assistant to the President Emeritus of Duke, and serving as a first reader of applications at the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill.  Before her work at Duke, she taught high school English and Humanities for four years at independent schools in VA and NC.  She is delighted to be back in the high school setting, working with students on their college search.  Mrs. Sellers is 3/4 time at Cary Academy. Her schedule is Monday-Thursday each week, with longer days for appointment times on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Mrs. Sellers holds a B.A. in English from Davidson College, and a M.A. in English from the College of William and Mary.  She lives in Chapel Hill with her husband and their two sons, Scott and Charles.