Our Team
With over 30 years of dedicated service in education, Eric Leary brings exceptional depth and versatility to his role as both educator and mentor. As a high school teacher, he has expertly guided students through college preparatory and future-ready curricula, while also serving as an academic advisor across various grade levels, supporting students in navigating course registration and academic planning. Eric's commitment to developing well-rounded individuals extends beyond the classroom, where his leadership as head coach for both baseball and football programs has produced remarkable results, with multiple former players advancing to collegiate athletic careers. His holistic approach to education—combining academic excellence with athletic discipline—has established him as a respected figure whose influence continues to shape the success of generations of students.
Tracy Leary's path to college preparation coaching emerged from personal experience during a challenging time. In 2018, when Hurricane Florence devastated Onslow County, schools closed for 55 days, leaving Tracy and her daughter Dailey Rae without access to school counselors during the critical college application season. Navigating this process independently, Tracy discovered firsthand how dramatically college admissions had evolved since her own graduation in 1994. This transformative experience revealed the complexities faced by today's families. Now, she draws from both her professional experience and this personal journey to guide students and parents through the increasingly competitive college application landscape with empathy, insight, and practical expertise.
Eric and Tracy Leary are the proud (and occasionally exhausted) parents of two scholarship winners who somehow survived their college prep advice: Dailey Rae, who attended Wake Forest University on scholarship and is now a proud Demon Deacon graduate who uses big words they don't understand, and Jack, a freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill who still calls home—mostly when he needs money despite that full-ride. Nestled in Eastern North Carolina, Team Leary fuels their days with excessive amounts of coffee, pretends to read books they bought three years ago, shouts unnecessarily loud at college sports on TV, and is currently engaged in an overly ambitious vegetable garden project that local wildlife considers an all-you-can-eat buffet. Their qualification for college coaching? They've navigated the scholarship maze twice, lived through the entire process with their sanity (mostly) intact, and have the gray hairs to prove it.
