Welcome Back, Izzy!

Welcome to Isabel Filkins ’10, who has returned to Miss Hall’s as the Director of College Counseling.

Izzy comes to MHS from Bard College at Simon’s Rock, in nearby Great Barrington, where she worked for nearly a decade. A Berkshires native — Izzy and her twin sister, Malina, were MHS day students from Cheshire — and Izzy saw the MHS role as a natural extension of the many hats she wore at Simon’s Rock.

“When this position popped up, I didn’t think of applying at first, but then I realized I had done all of the major responsibilities before,” she says. “I just never had that title before.”

While at Simon’s Rock, Izzy held roles as an Adjunct Faculty member in the Humanities and the Arts, as an advisor to early college students, and as Director of Title IX and Civil Rights. Her work included developing curriculum, ensuring the early college’s compliance with Title IX regulations, and advising students as they navigated course selection and charted their next steps during and after attending the early college.

“Whatever hurdle was on their path, or where a student was wanting to change their path, I worked with them to help them navigate so they could find their direction,” she explains. “I really like working with students to get at the root of what drives them, then finding a way to connect that with a sustainable way forward.”

Returning to MHS in January, Izzy is eager to add her touch to the School’s personalized College Counseling program. She jumped in with juniors, getting to know them and helping them launch their college searches by putting shape around their dreams and exploring which colleges might help them meet their goals. (Former Director of College Counseling and current Dean of Students Sarah Virden shepherded the Class of 2024 through their senior-year college work.)

Izzy holds an M.F.A. in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College and a B.A. in Comparative Literature and Dance from Bard College.

She is a great fit at Miss Hall’s. Welcome back!