Founder
Dr. Dorothy Hiralien, LPC, MPhil, NCC, PhD
Dorothy always had a passion for higher education starting from a young age. With the help of many different community resources such as College Visions’ and high school counselors, she was able to obtain higher education. Dorothy graduated from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and minor in Education. From there, she pursued her graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, CT where she graduated with honors. She received her PhD in Psychology and a second Masters degree in Philosophy from Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she completed all academic assignments with honors. Dorothy is a National Certified Counselor and a Licensed Professional Counselor. Currently, she is working as a Behavioral Health Clinician at a non-profit health center for individuals of all ages, a Psychotherapist in private practice providing clinical sessions to adults and couples and immigration psychological evaluations and an adjunct professor at her Alma Mater.
As a junior in high school, College Visions’ supported Dorothy in covering standardized tests, college visits/ orientations, college application fees, writing college essays, having a resume prepared and also conducting mock interviews to equip Dorothy with the tools necessary to be successful. As a result, Dorothy was awarded a large scholarship to attend a 4 year private institute, College of the Holy Cross. The financial support Dorothy received from Holy Cross, made it possible for Dorothy to afford higher education.
As Dorothy pursued her graduate degree, Dorothy faced many challenges that made pursing her graduate degree difficult. In 2017, Dorothy was awarded an $11,000 scholarship from the National Board of Certified Counselors to cover the cost of tuition. It still did not cover tuition for the whole time and she had to find other means of making it possible.
I Know You Can scholarship is created to help black students cover the financial costs of application fees, standardized tests, acceptance deposits and more to eliminate some financial roadblocks and make it possible for black students to achieve success . Each year, Dorothy's goal is to award 5 individuals with a scholarship. Eventually with your donation, I Know You Can Inc would like to award individuals enough to cover tuition for a semester, a year and all four years. Make a donation today and help students like Dorothy achieve their educational goals!