Her strength is helping others tap into theirsJennifer (Weinstein) Rapowitz ’13

As a therapist in private practice, Jennifer (Weinstein) Rapowitz ’13 uses an approach similar to the McLean School Abilities Model®, which served her so well. “I work in a very strengths-based way,” she says about her work with primarily adolescents and young adults. “I see so many people who think of their anxiety or ADHD as a detriment rather than the asset it can be, especially once you step outside of a traditional academic environment.”
Jen speaks from experience. She arrived at McLean in grade 8 in search of a smaller class size and supportive community. “I wasn’t doing well in public school,” she says, “I was overwhelmed and had a lot of anxiety and was looking for a change.” The kindness of the McLean students and teachers quickly put her at ease and paved the way for a positive learning experience and forever friendships.

After Upper School, Jen went on to study psychology and leadership studies at the University of Maryland Honors College, where she graduated magna cum laude before taking a job as a strategy consultant in the government and public service sector and, later, an analyst with an international hospitality company. “I thought it would be fun to work in the corporate world, and it was, but it was also a time for me to figure out what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” she says. “I was good at this work, but I didn’t find much meaning in it, and it wasn’t really playing to my strengths.”

She thought back to her Upper School math teacher, Paul Belliveau. “He always said I had a very high EQ [emotional intelligence], though at the time, I didn’t really care—I just wanted to do well on the calculus test! But that stuck with me through my many different experiences and made me think about how I might be able to help other people.”

Jen returned to school, this time in Georgia, where she and her husband, Sam, moved in 2022, and in 2023 earned her Master of Social Work at the University of Georgia on a fully-funded research fellowship. Today, the two live in Atlanta with their dogs, Maizee, a French bulldog, and Frank, the pug, and enjoy hiking and time outdoors. “I’ve created a life that works for me,” she says.

That life includes the ability to manage many moving parts. “As young children in school, we’re expected to focus on one thing at a time, but in reality, we’re not really supposed to be able to sit for seven hours, for example,” she says. “For a lot of us, success comes from doing several things at once.” That might look like a 9-to-5 job with a business on the side or—in her case—having a private practice, doing research and giving talks, teaching continuing education classes, and presenting at mental health fairs.

“So much of resilience comes from an internal knowledge that you are capable, which is something I realize I got from McLean,” she says. “It wasn’t about knowing how to do geometry or mastering perfect grammar—it was an innate ability that I could do things and when I couldn’t, I could ask for help. And knowing that this didn’t make me stupid, it made me stronger.”

Other takeaways from Jen’s time at McLean include public speaking and improv skills gained through her involvement in school musicals—“very useful as a therapist!” she notes—as well as increased self-confidence and the ability to advocate for herself, skills that helped to land her a leadership role as a college freshman. “I applied for a position in student government; in my interview, I talked about my McLean experience of a small community and wanting to replicate that within the larger university—and I got the appointment.”

For prospective families wondering whether McLean’s small size and focus make it less preparatory for “the real world,” Jen is quick to say the opposite is true. “There’s so much to gain in addition to a good education. Whether it’s the ability to self-advocate or tap into your strengths, you carry these things forward into your life.”

And Jen is ever grateful for the experience: it’s a big decision to send a child to an independent school, she notes, and she thanks her parents for providing her with the opportunity. “I was grateful back then, but more for the academics, which felt more manageable, and the extra help the teachers were willing to give me with schoolwork.

“But now,” she adds, “I see that what McLean teachers are really saying when they give their time and help is ‘I believe in you.’”