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After her freshman year in high school, Ella did not play a lot of sports to focus on getting good grades and pursuing her college dreams. She did join the Youth and Government club and held various officer positions during the 4 years of High School.

Ella will be a Freshman at North Carolina State University in Fall 2023.

In this Podcast, Ella talks about her High School Experiences, her college search process, Digital SAT, and her advice to college aspirants.

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Ella Smith is a recent graduate of Ravenscroft High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ella will be a Freshman at NC State in Fall 2023.

Memorable Quote: “So when the digital SAT was on a computer it was basically all self paced, and the time was cut in half, I thought it was amazing. You were out of there before 10am kind of thing.” Ella Smith.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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It all started over 10 years ago, with College Faculty using Wikipedia for college coursework, and their students editing its content. Wiki Education was created to support these Faculty members.

LiAnna Davis is the  Chief Programs Officer and the Dy. Director at Wiki Education.

LiAnna joins us on our podcast to tell us all about Wiki Education, Types of Content, Process to Edit Content, Why Students Should Engage, Success Stories, and Advice for High Schoolers.

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: LiAnna Davis is the  Chief Programs Officer and the Dy. Director at Wiki Education. LiAnna has a Master of Arts degree in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University. 

Memorable Quote: “So one of the things that we find is college students are sort of starved for meaningful assignments in higher education. And, you know, when you [write] traditional academic paper, it goes to an audience of one person, who's your professor. And you know, and they give you a bunch of feedback on it, and they give you a letter grade, and you probably don't do anything with it ever again” LiAnna Davis.

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.

Resources referred to in this episode:

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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Kyrstal thought her first three years of High School weren’t that memorable. She was just doing things she thought she was supposed to do. Classes like AP Biology, Soccer, and the rest.

In her senior year she really got involved in leadership. Organized student rallies for football games & was the Class treasurer. She found that these experiences gave her access to lots of opportunities. 

Krystal joins our podcast to share her undergraduate honors college journey at SDSU, Honors College courses, Internships, Majoring in Finance, and Advice for High Schoolers.

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Krystal Nzeadibe graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from San Diego State University Weber Honors College. Krystal is currently pursuing an MBA at Harvard Business School. Krystal can be reached at [email protected].

Memorable Quote: “So things like doing public speaking engagements, being like a student on different University Board committees. And I think being comfortable in uncomfortable situations allowed me to be confident when it came to working my first job”. Krystal Nzeadibe.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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Prof. Abmayr discovered UG Research during the Summer after her Junior year in college. She subsequently did research in her senior year in genetics. These research experiences were instrumental in her decision to go to graduate school.

Dr. Beth Beason-Abmayr joins us on our podcast to talk about UG Research in Biosciences at Rice University, CUR’s role, Impact of Research on UG Students, Success stories, and finally Advice for High Schoolers.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Dr Beth Beason-Abmayr is a Teaching Professor of BioSciences at Rice University in Houston, Texas. Dr. Beason-Abmayr earned her PhD in Physiology and Biophysics from the University of Alabama Birmingham.

Memorable Quote: “And so in these courses, we're introducing building and reinforcing not only research, but science communication skills. So with the goal of helping our students become expert thinkers, our lab courses, unlike some of their independent research experiences, are team based.” Dr. Beason-Abmayr.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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As a high schooler in Germany, Daniel cared only about Sports. Specifically American Football. He wanted to go to college to play football.

Daniel came to a US College on a Sports Scholarship. 

Things, however, didn’t go as planned.

Daniel  joins us on our podcast to share his UG Experience as an International Student, At UC Blue Ash, and then the 4-year UC program, UG Research in Financial Aid, The Scholarships, and Advice for high schoolers. 

In particular, we discuss the following with him: 

Our Guests: Daniel Posmik graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics & Data Analytics from the University of Cincinnati.

Memorable Quote: “One thing that I will always recall is that the transition phase was mostly marked by me trying to identify financial support opportunities, because going from Blue Ash to the Uptown campus also meant doubling the fees that I had to pay. So I keep in mind, all the money that I had to pay had to come out of pocket from me, with no loans.” Daniel Posmik.

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.

Resources referred to in this episode:

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode Transcript.

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In her 24 years in College Counseling, Jodi has seen a lot of things change, but the joy of working with students 1-on-1 remains unchanged.

Today, with her counselor colleagues, Jodi is helping students find the college that is right for them.

On our podcast, Jodi talks about her background, about Charlotte Christian School, her Counseling approach, managing expectations, and her advice for high school students.

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Jodi Foxx is the Director of College Counseling at Charlotte Christian School, North Carolina.

Memorable Quote: “Sometimes if they [students] get too stuck on this perfectionist mindset, you know, can't make any mistakes. [They] have to always succeed and thrive in everything they touch. You know, that's not going to be realistic.” Jodi Foxx.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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After taking Spanish in middle school, Vismaya had dreamed of spending a semester in Spain.

However, when she got to high school, she found out that it wasn’t going to be easy to get away to Spain for a semester. It hadn’t been done before.

But Vismaya and the school found a way.

Vismaya Gopalan will be a Freshman at Dartmouth College in Fall 2023.

In this Podcast, Vismaya talks about her High School Experiences, Semester Abroad in Spain, her college search process, and her advice to college aspirants.

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Vismaya Gopalan is a recent graduate of Notre Dame High School in San Jose, California. Vismaya will be a Freshman at Dartmouth College in Fall 2023.

Memorable Quote: “I'm really looking forward to going there [Dartmouth]. So one of the best parts, something that I really appreciate was that I am, I'm not locked into a major like I, you know, I only have to declare at the end of my sophomore year. So I'm really excited to sort of go there and try different things.” Vismaya Gopalan.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

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Chiara is a “chronic achiever” with a Passion for Fashion. In High School she was in the Orchestra, Band, Student Council, Scholastic Bowl to name a few. In class she loved History, French.

But the class that changed everything for her was a Sports Marketing course. After that she was hooked on Business and Marketing.

Chiara joins our podcast to share her undergraduate honors college journey at Ball State, her UG Research experiences, Passion for Fashion, Deep Campus Involvement, and Advice for High Schoolers.

In particular, we discuss the following with her: 

Topics discussed in this episode:

Our Guest: Chiara Biddle recently graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Merchandising from Ball State University Honors College.

Memorable Quote: “And it's [Honors College] been really like a grounding experience learning that, you know, if someone in like the 1300s, like, had these issues, and anxieties, and like they were able to overcome it, then I can, too.” Chiara Biddle.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

Similar Episodes: College Experiences, UG Research

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