Meet Our College Counselors
Hunt Heffner
Dean of College Counseling
Mr. Heffner joined the Saint Mary’s community in 2022 as Dean of College Counseling. He is also a residential faculty member and serves as a member of the Academic Leadership Team and a faculty representative on the student-run Judicial Board.
A native of Chapel Hill, Mr. Heffner earned his undergraduate degrees in history and American studies from the University of Richmond and a graduate degree in history from The College of William and Mary. He began his career in education working in the admissions offices at the University of Richmond and Princeton University. A desire to work more directly with students and their families motivated his move to Woodberry Forest, where he served as director of college counseling for eight years. In addition to his responsibilities in the college counseling office, Mr. Heffner was a member of Woodberry’s administrative leadership team and served as an advisor and dorm parent.
For the last six years, Mr. Heffner has overseen admissions at The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland, an all-boys day/boarding school in Baltimore, as director of enrollment management
Mr. Heffner is passionate about the ever-evolving field of college admissions and enjoys working with students and families as they navigate the college search and application process. He, his wife, and two daughters, Harper and Reiss, are thrilled to join the Saint Mary’s community and reside on campus. In addition, Harper is a rising first year Saint Mary’s girl and will be a member of the Class of 2026.
Andrew Lowman, Ed.D.
Associate Director of College Counseling
Andrew Lowman joined Saint Mary's School in August 2023 as the associate director for College Counseling. He is the former upper school principal (2019-2023) of the Taipei American School in Taipei, Taiwan, where he served in various roles for nearly 15 years. The TAS upper school educates students in grades 9-12 and has a student body of 880 and more than 150 faculty and staff.
Mr. Lowman also served the school as the upper school associate principal (2017-2019), the director of College Counseling (2012-2016), as a college counselor (2011-2012; 2016-2016), and as a personal and academic counselor (2009-2011). From 2006-2009, he was a college and academic counselor/AP coordinator for the Shanghai Community International School in Shanghai, China, and from 2005-2006 was an OEM account sales representative for Iwata Bolt USA in Dayton, OH.
He holds a master's degree in educational, school, and counseling psychology with a positive coaching emphasis and a bachelor's degree in history. Additionally, he has engaged in graduate level of study in educational leadership and administration.He has studied three languages other than English to varying levels of procifiency, including Japanese, Indonesian, and Chinese.
In his spare time, Mr. Lowman enjoys playing, watching, and coaching basketball; coaching youth sports (soccer, basketball, and baseball); collecting, trading and researching sports trading cards; and exploring international destinations and cuisine with family.
Mr. Lowman is passionate about helping students achieve their post-secondary goals and looks forward to working with the young women of Saint Mary’s and their families. You can find his office in Lower Smedes Hall.
Danielle Tanner
Associate Director of College Counseling
Mrs. Tanner joined Saint Mary's School in 2022 as an associate director for College Counseling and is a residential faculty member.
Growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania, Danielle Tanner dreamed of seeing the world, and after graduating from Penn State University in 2009, she set out to do just that. She moved to South Korea to teach English as a Second Language at an elementary school, and what was only supposed to be a year turned into a love of education and over 10 years of teaching experiences in a variety of international settings.
Mrs. Tanner and her husband, Eric, joined the independent school community in 2016 when they moved to Christchurch School, a small boarding school located in Tidewater, Virginia. At CCS, Ms. Tanner worked as a teacher, international student coordinator, advisor, dorm parent, drama director, admissions associate, and college counselor. After 5 years there, she and her husband moved to Nassau, The Bahamas, where she started a college counseling program at a small independent school.
Mrs. Tanner is passionate about helping students achieve their post-secondary goals and is looking forward to inspiring curiosity, confidence, and independence in the young women of Saint Mary’s.
She and her family have joined the Saint Mary’s community and will reside on campus. When she’s not busy working, she enjoys hiking, camping, traveling, live music, cooking and baking, and taking her rescue hound for nice long walkies. You can find her office in lower Smedes Hall.