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In this series of episodes, College Counselors share their takeaways from College Alumni and Student stories featured in this Podcast.

In this episode, Paula shares her takeaways from the Podcast episode with Emily Woodland, Drexel University.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Paula Dennis is a College Counselor at Jenks High School in Oklahoma.

Memorable Quote: “...when Emily shared her own advice for students, it was even better, because a lot of times students would listen to someone that has just gone through the process, as Emily did last year.” Paula Dennis.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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In High School Kalen took internationally focused courses. He loved Public Speaking and Debate and participated in a number of competitions and won the state championship in his senior year.

At 16, even though he couldn’t vote, he actively volunteered in political action organizations. 

Kalen joins us on our podcast to share his UG Experience at CU Boulder, Studio Lab, UG Research in Political Science, TEDxCU, and Advice for High Schoolers. 

In particular, we discuss the following with him: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guests: Kalen Sieja is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Memorable Quote: “And there's so many ways that you can customize your college experience to fit you, and you shouldn't be like, ashamed or scared or anything like that, to ask for help when you need it, and really make your college experience something that's going to benefit you long term, rather than just like, following the exact traditional path that's completely cookie cutter that other people follow. ” Kalen Sieja.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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Making sense of the College News of the week, curated by Alma Matters. Shveta Bagade, College Counselor gives us her take on the news.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Shveta Bagade, College Counselor based in Silicon Valley California.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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I last spoke to Thomas when he was a sophomore at Davidson and was pursuing an entrepreneurial venture called Portfolio Kings.

Thomas stayed entrepreneurial in the second half of his college years and co-founded MESA, a startup to provide independent musicians an administrative infrastructure and also ensure that all rights holders on music NFT get paid.

In this episode, Thomas shares his undergraduate & entrepreneurial journey at Davidson, co- founding MESA, Winning the Hub Pitch Competition, Building MESA, The Hub’s Role and What’s Next for MESA.

Check Out: The College Application Workbooks for Juniors and Seniors

In particular, we discuss the following with him: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Thomas Athey graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE), and History at Davidson College. 

Memorable Quote: “...it's hard to figure out what you want, and it's also hard to not cave to sort of societal pressures of what you think you should do. And so I think you just got to stay strong in that process and trust yourself, and put the work in, right?” Thomas Athey.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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When I last spoke with Rebecca, she had just graduated from High School and was headed to the University of Texas Austin.

Rebecca is a junior at UT Austin.

In this episode, Rebecca shares her undergraduate experiences at UT Austin, Her Internships, Study Abroad in Ireland, and Majoring in Journalism.

Check Out: The College Application Workbooks for Juniors and Seniors

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Rebecca Youngers is a junior at the University of Texas Austin.

Memorable Quote: “My study abroad? Oh, my gosh, literally, like the best experience ever. I'm like, I know everyone that goes abroad does not shut up about it, and I am included in that pool of people for sure. ” Becca Youngers.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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In this series of episodes, College Counselors share their takeaways from College Alumni and Student stories featured in this Podcast.

Tom Stepkoski picked the 3 episodes from “College Vignettes Tell Tales”, my handbook for sophomores and juniors.

In this episode, Tom shares his takeaways from Podcast episodes with Lorena of Davidson College, Aidan of UCLA, and Avinash of Princeton.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Tom Stepkoski is the Career and College Counselor at Westhill High School in Stamford, Connecticut. In addition, Tom also runs Tom Step Coaching for Personal Development.

Memorable Quote: “And I'm sure that you know, you've heard me say before on your podcast, that kids love to listen to kids. And I say kids, you know, I'm referring to students of 16, 17, 18, years old, or primarily, they're juniors in high school, and they're starting to look at colleges.” Tom Stepkoski.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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Tracy got her PhD from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. For years after that, she taught college students in programs called “Semesters at Sea”. During that time she was also an instructor for the Outward Bound with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS).

She noticed that all her students were wealthy.

That insight led Tracy to found the STEP - an amazing program to provide guidance to high achieving, low income students to get to college.

Tracy joins us on our podcast to talk about her background, the origins of STEP, The Organization and the program, How to apply for STEP, Success Stories, and finally Tips for High Schoolers.

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Tracy Baynes is the Founder and CEO of STEP - Student Expedition Program in Tucson Arizona.

Memorable Quote: “What we say is, we can't want this more than you do. Like in the end, you have to do the hard work, and you have to do the hard work when nobody's looking, you have to do the hard work when nobody's giving you accolades. And that's what it takes, right?  Anything you want, is on the other side of hard work.” Tracy Baynes.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

Similar Episodes: College Experiences, College Application Workbook 

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Making sense of the College News of the week, curated by Alma Matters. Shveta Bagade, College Counselor gives us her take on the news.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Shveta Bagade, College Counselor based in Silicon Valley California.

Resources referred to in this episode:

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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Digital SAT is here.

Today we feature 2 high school seniors, Eva and Emily from Jenks High School to share their experiences with the Digital SAT.

They talk about the structure of the test, how they prepared for it, The differences between the Paper and Digital Test, and their Advice for Juniors.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guests: Eva Mahajan and Emily Seo, Senior Jenks High School, Tulsa OK.

Memorable Quote: “So first I would tell them to take as many practice tests as possible, because that's how I like to study. And I soon learned the grammar patterns and the formatting pretty well. And then I would also say, Make sure not to cram study the day or even week before, and to create a schedule over a longer period of time.” Emily Seo.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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Beto liked Math and Science classes in High School. He loved to play soccer.

In his senior year of high school, he started gravitating towards trade school and a career in welding. So, during the summer after high school, he started working as a welder.

But then things changed for him.

Beto joins our podcast to share his inspiring undergraduate college journey at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater, Landslide Research, Summer Internships, Choosing Geography with Geology Major, and Advice for High Schoolers.

Check Out: The College Application Workbooks for Juniors and Seniors

In particular, we discuss the following with him: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guests: Beto Patino-Luna is studying Geography with a Geology emphasis at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater.

Memorable Quote: “I had never heard about the research process before meeting Dr Juk. I didn't know what research was. I didn't know you could get a job out of it. So I learned all about that.” Beto Patino-Luna.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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