Associate Director of College Counseling and SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) facilitator Nick Dillman has been working with high school students for 15 years, seven in college counseling in Quaker schools. Now, in his fourth year at George School, he’s hitting his stride across several platforms.

SEED Co-Planter

As a new hire at Germantown Friends in Philadelphia, Nick joined SEED. “It was a great way to get to know my colleagues and the school in a deep way,” he said. “This wasn’t water-cooler conversations; this was asking, what is the essence of who we are? And how can we, collectively, take what we’re learning about each other to make our school a better community?” After a year as a participant, Nick co-facilitated groups of faculty and parents. 

The National SEED Project on Inclusive Curriculum is the brainchild of renowned activist, feminist and senior research scientist Peggy McIntosh ’52. With a pedigree like that, SEED seemed a natural fit for Peggy’s alma mater. And sure enough, when Nick arrived at George School, he learned that Director of DEI Rachel Williams wanted to establish the program. Together, they made it happen. 

“It’s identity work,” he said. “It’s getting people to understand themselves better in order to understand their fellow community members better. Students relate to this and lean into it, and really beautiful conversations have come out of it.

“SEED has been a huge part of my own professional development; it’s one of the most important things I’ve ever done,” he said. 

Values-Driven College Counselor

After working in public schools, where he served over 300 students as a college counselor, academic advisor and mental health counselor, Nick made the switch to independent schools and narrowed his focus to college counseling. And at George School, with just 30 to 35 students in a class, “I get to work with them a lot more closely,” he said, “to do everything I wish I could have done with my public school students.”  

At the 2025 NACAC Conference in Columbus, Ohio, Nick co-presented “An Introduction to Solution-Focused Brief Therapy for the College Counseling Office,” contending that college counselors would benefit from professional mental health training. He and his colleagues will be presenting it again at ACCIS 2026, at the University of Denver. 

“I love being able to tap back into my previous life and share what I feel are some really important and applicable skills with my fellow college counselors,” said Nick.

College counseling at a Quaker School requires striking a balance — one between knowing colleges are in the business of convincing students to fall in love with them alone and helping students identify what they genuinely want and need in a college. 

“I used to say that strategy is a four-letter word,” said Nick. “I’ve changed my stance on that. If colleges are going to play the game, we have to play the game too, and it’s naive to say <covers eyes> ‘I’m just going to go on vibes.’  

“But I think in mission-centered college counseling — especially in a Quaker school, rooted in peace and simplicity — if we focus on promising students that ‘we’re going to get your SAT score up 200 points,’ we’re losing the essence of finding the right fit,” he continued.

Nick asks his students to draft questions for college admission reps. One student’s wise and self-aware questions (‘What do you value as an institution, and how do you care for and support your student body?’) crystallized Quaker values. He was impressed. “That’s a testament to the type of students George School creates,” he said. “The reps were surprised. I think the college landscape has become so cutthroat that we lose that college is a rite of passage, a place a student will call home. I don’t want students to become so cynical that they lose the joy in the process.”

Open-Mind Guru 

George School’s primary college fair is the Unbranded College Fair — “my baby since I started here,” said Nick. Based on Kentucky Country Day School’s original model, the first 45 minutes is blind: Students meet with admission reps, but the colleges are anonymous. Then, all is revealed. 

Admission reps tell Nick how much they enjoy “the adventure” of George’s School’s fair. Some say it’s their favorite. And it’s a meaningful experience for students. 

“Every year, they’re exposed to new schools, are forced to step out of the box,” said Nick. It’s a far cry from “being behind screens,” he continued. “It’s rich, informative conversations.” 

For more on the fair, see “The Unorthodox College Fair,” in this issue.