Missy Yavasile
Director / Financial Aid Advisor / College Planner
Missy is the founder of SOAR College Planning. She is an Independent College Consultant, with almost 40 years in education. As the family coach, her goal is to help each family reach the goal of finding the best college fit for the least cost.
After receiving her Bachelor of Science degree, Missy started her teaching career in Pleasanton, California, where she spent 2 years teaching dance and PE. She and her husband moved to Visalia in 1975 where they began serving the students and community of Visalia. Missy taught at Mineral King and Willow Glen and then moved to Green Acres where she spent the next 13 years.
Having a strong desire to work as a counselor with students, she received her school counseling credential (Pupil Personnel Services-PPS) and her Masters Degree in Counseling and Administration from Fresno Pacific University in 1989.
In addition to being a middle school and high school counselor, she spent 10 years teaching and acting as the Science Department Chairman at Redwood High School. It was at this time that she fell in love with high school students.
In 2004, she wrote the charter petition and founded Visalia Charter Independent Study. Missy retired from VUSD in 2009. After she retired, she spent two and a half years helping with the development of a new charter school, Valley Life Charter School.
In 2010, Missy founded SOAR because of the great need for college planning she observed in the Central Valley. She looks forward to helping students identify their perfect college fit and reach their full potential.
Lisa McEwen
Essay Coach
Lisa McEwen holds a bachelors degree in journalism with a minor in German from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She and her husband, Matt, are proud parents of two children who benefited greatly from their time at SOAR. Lisa works as a freelance journalist for a variety of local publications and businesses. At SOAR, she enjoys helping students craft their college essays.
Elaine Rubio
Essay Coach
Elaine Rubio recently retired from the Visalia Unified School District after teaching for 38 years at Golden West High School. She earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Business from CSU, Fresno. During her tenure at Golden West, she served as the Business Department Chair and taught business courses and work experience education. In 1998, she wrote a California Partnership Academy grant funded through the California Department of Education, and the GWHS Business Finance Academy has been in operation since that time. In addition to serving as the coordinator of the Academy, she also served as an advisor to the Future Business Leaders of America and DECA, both career technical student organizations in business. In 2007, she was the self-study coordinator for the WASC accreditation at Golden West. She was also recently inducted as a laureate recipient for Golden West upon her retirement and was featured as one of the KSEE 24 Teachers of the Week.
In her retirement, Elaine has continued to serve the school district, assisting with school-to-career efforts such as the Visalia Partners in Education, Linked Learning Academies, and Doc Band. She also serves on the board for the Visalia Education Foundation. We feel fortunate to have Elaine helping our students discover their aptitudes and interests while and potential majors for college. Her experience and expertise in the business and career arena is invaluable to our students as they explore potential majors and careers. Elaine also applies her expertise in resume development for our students. Elaine’s positive attitude and her passion for helping students make her an invaluable member of our team.
John Yavasile
Athletics
Long time Redwood football coach, John understands the high school athlete. Having two sons who participated in college sports, he also understands the college athlete. He wants to share his knowledge with aspiring college athletes.
While attending CSU Hayward, John received his Bachelors Degree in Physical Education and Social Science. He received his teaching credential from St. Mary’s college and received his Masters Degree in Education from National University. He was also credentialed to teach Adaptive Physical Education. John taught Special Education for 28 years and he taught PE and was the Physical Education Department Chairman at Redwood High School for 8 years.
John has always had an interest in college athletics. He is anxious to help high school students pursue their dreams to play college sports. He does this through college visitations and marketing to athletic directors throughout the county.
