Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Chanin.
Cindy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I came out of the womb “fluent” in mathematics. It was my first language – something I spoke and understood long before I could put together a coherent sentence in English. I was a late speaker, walker, and reader – yet I had an affinity for computation, vivid storytelling, as well as entertaining and inspiring others. This love for stories and forging connections eventually propelled me to success in the humanities, yet it took a bit longer for me to catch-up with my peers, becoming well “versed” in those subjects, too. Then, everything came to fruition in 5th-grade. Friends would come home after school and I would work with them on word problems and book reports. Next thing I knew, my friends’ parents were calling-up my parents asking if they could “hire” me to tutor their kids. Now I was being offered allowance and a myriad of other incentives just to “study with” my friends and help them understand and find their way into the material. I think my teachers at school felt like they had me as some unlikely competition at the time.
With that, I had discovered that I have this gift for taking convoluted concepts and tailoring them to an individual’s distinct learning style and interests. Who knew that my early childhood learning difference, fun creative analogies, and background in the performing arts would pave the way for a unique and impactful career in education? After working for years as a tutor, shadowing under different educational therapists, working in college admissions, developing standardized test prep curriculum, and doing entrepreneurial coaching with teens, I went from being a one-stop-shop educator wearing multiple hats to the Founder and Director of Rainbow EDU Consulting & Tutoring. With Rainbow EDU, I have curated a dynamic team of talented, passionate, and engaging academic mentors and consultants who work with students from the inside-out. People come to Rainbow EDU seeking-out an independent school admissions consultant, a college counselor, an AP World/French/Chemistry/Calc tutor, and/or standardized test prep coach, yet they end up getting their WHY out of it. Rainbow = EQ + IQ…every shade and hue of possibility…blending the holistic and the pragmatic…and transforming lives.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Struggles? Absolutely. That which has challenged me has led to the most invaluable epiphanies and prolonged success. As an entrepreneur, I have learned the value of failing, gleaning insight, and emerging wiser and more determined than ever before. Experience has taught me the importance of surrounding myself with passionate, savvy people who believe what I believe as well as those who excel in areas in which I do not. Delegating is key, and while we can achieve amazing feats on our own, teamwork brings out everyone’s best selves. Collaboration is the stuff of growth. Many years ago, I dealt with a challenging business partner and had to go separate ways and return to my roots. It was one of the best hard-knocks I’ve ever had to move through, grow from, and ultimately transcend.
Moreover, I have mentored students who’ve dealt with severe trauma or hardships as well as those in recovery from substance abuse or eating disorders. My clients often become like family, and partaking in high-stakes interventions has come with this journey, along with the heartbreak of attending a few memorial services and speaking to a congregation of a deceased client’s legacy well before his/her prime. I’ve dealt with volatile family politics, parents who don’t speak with one another, a disconnect between student and parent, unfathomable expulsions and educational obstacles, families who have lost their homes in these rampant fires…you name it. I could write a book about the struggles I’ve encountered in this work, as well as the innumerable rewards that come from working for the joy and finding joy in the work. I feel truly blessed.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Rainbow EDU’s goal is to transform lives through the power of personalized education and impactful mentoring and enrichment. Internationally sought-after by ambitious and caring parents, our team of top-notch educators not only help their children prepare for and gain entrance into the most prestigious academic schools in the country but also help students tap into opportunities that are “lucrative for them” while discovering their personal ambitions, desires, goals—and ultimately—their ‘why’ in the world. Our services run the gamet from multi-subject academic tutoring and enrichment to standardized test prep, college consulting, independent school admissions counseling, to homeschooling, service learning projects, and entrepreneurial coaching for teens and young adults. From working with elementary, middle and high school students, to coaching college-aged students, 20-somethings, as well as empty-nester parents, Rainbow EDU provides a “full-spectrum” of services that are tailored to individuals and their personal paths. No story is the same.
If you had to start over, what would you have done differently?
I believe that there is more than one way to get to where we’re going, and I trust that no matter what detours I might have taken along the way, I would eventually end up on the path that I am on now. Obviously, certain paths are more direct and offer a means of less resistance, yet I feel like everything I’ve experienced and encountered along the way has been perfectly tailored to shape me into who I am today…informing all that I have to give and the optimal mode of expression. My life isn’t happening to me; it is undoubtedly happening for me. The answers have always been there. If anything, I would tell my younger self to trust her instincts – and that what might have felt like rejection could’ve very well been the Universe’s way of protection. As I look back now, I see the lesson and merit in everything I’ve done, and would not necessarily feel the necessity of changing it.
Contact Info:
- Address: 842 11th Street, Santa Monica, CA. 90403
- Website: https://rainboweduconsulting.com/
- Phone: 310-902-7912
- Email: office@
rainboweduconsulting.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rainboweduconsulting/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rainboweduconsulting/
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