In this episode Alex is joined by Ertugrul Gerdan of Student Hub.  Ertugrul has been an educational consultant for ten years in his native Turkey after completing his graduate studies at Harvard and Drexel, where he developed the 4C4life model, focusing on the college process of one leg of four definable eras in a student’s life.   Alex and Ertugrul discuss the challenges of college admission from an international lens, and discuss its role as merely one leg along a greater path to career success  

Key Takeaways

-The College Admissions process should take a broader lens to a student’s life.  A backwards design is key, considering where the student wants to be ten years after their college career in making the decisions in college placement.

   -The first semester is critical for kids going to college for the first time.  Confidence can take a huge irrecoverable hit if things go poorly in their first fall on campus.  Getting the right resources in place and doing everything possible to make that transition a smooth one is key in helping them succeed.  

-Picking a major and a college must involve some speculation of the future.  What careers will be relevant ten years in the future? What will not be relevant?  The answers to these questions must guide these decisions.

In this episode Alex is joined by Dana Ponsky of Dana Ponsky Consulting.  Dana has an extensive background in college transition, after heading orientation and transition programs at several major colleges.  She gradually shifted to college consulting, which she has done for 20 years, after recognizing the intimate link between the search and the transition.  Alex and Dana discuss the challenges of transitioning higher education and how to best address those challenges in the college admissions process, and what parents can do to help.

Key Takeaways

ANXIETY-It’s important to embrace the natural anxiety that students will have about the college process, and to use a trained professional if that anxiety is extreme.  By embracing it, it turns an obscure and terrifying process into one that is more clear and achievable who necessarily face an uncertain future.

ADVOCATING-Assertiveness is a key trait in making the shift to higher education.  Advocating for oneself in speaking with professors, locating campus resources, and securing social and academic standing plays a vital role in success. 

 OPEN MIND-There is arguably a substantial element of fate in college admissions.  While it’s difficult based on several decades of expectations, it’s important to keep an open mind about the college selection you make. College admissions is, afterall, not an end point. 

Learn more about Dana here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/danaponsky0823/ 

Learn more about Dana Ponksy Consulting: 

www.consultwithdana.com

In this episode, the premiere episode of The Highway to Higher Ed, Alex is joined by Rana Slosberg of Slosberg College Solutions.  Rana has been in College Consulting for ten years, inspired by the college search of her own daughter who ended up at MIT.  In her ten years, she has visited hundreds of colleges and universities around the United States.  Alex and Rana discuss the keys to developing a perfect set of colleges for a list for applicants, considering the impact of the pandemic on this process.  What’s the role of an educational consultant, and why is it important?

Key Takeaways:

-One of the first considerations for the college process should be with the money.  It’s better to be honest with a student up front about the financial realities they face than to wait for scholarships to come along and alter the picture.  While that honesty is awkward, it is critical.-The list that a student generates actually has an intimate relationship with their chances of success they will ultimately have at graduating from college and experiencing life successes.  The object of a college list is to produce the best “fit” for the student; a poor fit can lead to failure and drop out, an all too common outcome.-It’s important to balance the value of a school’s name brand value with the value of the educational experience the student will actually get there.  While the name on the degree does matter to some degree, the direction of the young life path has to matter, as well.        Learn more about Rana here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ranaslosberg/Learn more about Slosberg College Solutions here: https://slosbergcollegesolutions/com

On this episode of Graduating Anxiety, Alex is joined by Becky Rabassa, Executive Director of Links Academy, an adaptable, interactive and supportive school for students in Grades 6-12. She is also a licensed clinical social worker with over thirty years of experience in social service organizations and independent schools. Alex and Becky discuss tactical learning solutions for managing anxiety and other learning challenges, the importance of integrating social emotional learning into education, and what we as teachers and caregivers can learn from students.

 Key Takeaways:

• The best professional development as teachers or just personal development as parents can be understanding how to better relate to our kids. Sometimes we get blinders on trying to build the best future for our kids and we forget simple things about meeting them where they are.
• We don’t need to fix every problem, especially when it comes to our kids. It might seem crazy, but sometimes children don’t need solutions. Sometimes, what they need more than anything is someone to listen, to acknowledge their feelings and to, again, relate.
• A great tactic for managing anxiety, whether in ourselves, or in our children is breaking something down into small, manageable steps. Anxiety can make any task seem daunting, so this helps our kids build the confidence that they are capable and that all they ever have to do is take the next step.

 Learn more about Becky here: https://www.linksacademy.org/facultyLearn more about Links Academy here: https://www.linksacademy.org/

On this episode of Graduating Anxiety, Alex is joined by Maggie Gregory, Head of School at Fusion Academy. Fusion is  a unique private school that focuses on personalized learning plans and motivating their students by creating emotionally safe learning environments. Alex and Maggie discuss the importance and process of building customized learning plans for students, the benefits of social emotional learning, and how we ensure SEL continues to be prioritized as we educate through a pandemic.

Key Takeaways:

• There are a lot of pressures on modern teachers. Educators are expected to wear many different hats and the system puts a tremendous amount of strain on the teachers we have. This can impact the educational experience. As educators, we need to keep the health and education of the children top of mind and try to cut out the rest of the noise.
• Social emotional learning is important but the benefits of one on one learning are undeniable. In a perfect world, children would be taught one on one and would reep the benefits of social emotional learning from other things like team sports and dorm life.

Learn more about Fusion Academy here: https://www.fusionacademy.com/

On this episode of Graduating Anxiety, Alex speaks to Amy Syed. Amy is a parent, a public speaker, a life coach and founder of the Quantum Genius program, a 12 week journey she developed to help any human reach their full potential and unleash the genius within. She has a long history working in both the physical and mental healthcare fields and is a champion for the benefits of mindfulness and meditation. On today’s episode, Alex and Amy explore techniques and methodologies of meditation. They also discuss the benefits of prioritizing mental health and building mindfulness into our lives, as individuals, parents, and educators.   

Key Takeaways:   

• There is no wrong way to practice mindfulness. At its core, mindfulness is a deeply personal experience that is inherently custom to you. So build your practice in a way that fits your life.  
• The world looks different than it used to. And this means that prioritizing mental health looks a little different too. As parents and as educators, we need to be mindful of this and ensure we’re building in check points and opportunities to prioritize mental health.  
• We have heard it before but children are smart and intuitive. Ensuring we are managing anxiety in our children starts with ourselves as parents. If we are angry, anxious or struggling to manage our own mental health, it’s obvious to our children and has a strong effect on how they manage their anxiety and learn to thrive in this world.  

Learn more about the Quantum Genius program: https://www.amysyed.ca/amysyediquantumgeniusigetstarted

On this episode of Graduating Anxiety, Alex speaks to Maria Locker. Starting her career as an elementary school teacher, Maria is no stranger to the educational system. However, as both a teacher and a mom, she began to notice an opportunity for moms everywhere to take ownership of their careers and started Mompreneurs, now called RevolutionHer, a community of women focused on entrepreneurial education, community, inspiration, and empowerment. Today, Maria has brought together over 23,000 female entrepreneurs from across the globe and she’s not done yet. In the midst of COVID, Alex and Maria discuss the taxing job of parents with children who are stuck at home, and how our educational system should be reformed to support new ways of entrepreneurial thinking.   

Key Takeaways:   

• Companies need to offer more flexibility to women in particular to help meet the needs of their parental and career roles. This is vital for the future, not just in the pandemic.   
• Success to Maria is being able to sit on the couch at the end of the day with her family, and being able to enjoy their company. Her goal is to come out of the pandemic closer to her family than when they went in.   
• To reduce mental health challenges, Maria believes that there needs to be less pressure on the grades kids are getting, and more on what they actually need to help them succeed. Self-care is on the top of her list, letting kids take a few minutes for themselves.  

Learn more about RevolutionHer: https://revolutionher.com/

Connect with Maria Locker: https://ca.linkedin.com/public-profile/in/marialocker

On this episode of Graduating Anxiety, Alex speaks to Micah Shippe. As a middle school teacher, technology trainer, author and professor, Micah is on the cutting edge of education technology and has spent his career studying methods of implementing innovative solutions into education environments. Currently, he is the founder and CEO of Ready Learner One, a transformative company leveraging emerging technologies like AR and VR to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of training offerings and make education more immersive. Though this technology becomes all the more urgent given COVID’s push to virtual education, the implications and benefits of these learning solutions go far beyond the reach of making online education more accessible.

Key Takeaways: 

• Micah’s work boils down to content, users and how to connect them. Really that’s what education is all about— content and methodology for effectively connecting it with students.
• There is an exciting social dynamic to virtual learning that is only growing. In Ready Player One, students were immersed in a virtual world that they experienced as a collective. Moving slowly closer to this reality is one of the exciting things about AR and VR. 
• New technology is always exciting, there is a novelty to it. But we need to look beyond the novelty of the tech and really discover, what are the sustainable elements of it? This is where the proper usage of these tools lays, in integrating them into existing systems to make our lives easier.

Learn more about Ready Learner One here: https://readylearner.one/  

Learn more about Alliance Tutoring’s virtual reality packages here: https://alliancetutoring.com/virtual-reality-tutoring-and-coaching/  

On this episode of Graduating Anxiety, Alex speaks to Dina Cooper. Dina is the author of “Smart Parenting – How to Develop Your Child’s Mindset, Resilience and Courage for the Future of Work,” and the founder of “Parent as Leader” sessions that focus on cultivating leadership within parents to better distill strong values in their kids. On this episode, Alex and Dina unpack her story, her parenting philosophy and explore how parents and caregivers can overcome cycles of anxiety at home through self care and self reflection.  

Key Takeaways:    

• Dina’s philosophy of first leading yourself, then your family, then your child really boils down to the fact that we can’t take care of others if we’re not first taking care of ourselves.  
• Leading your family is about aligning on a set of internal values that you want to prioritize-- and consciously deciding to let all the other little things go.  
• The best leaders, when we’re considering our families or our professional lives, bring out the best in people. It’s not always about a specific skill set or temperament, it’s about creating a space where people have the comfort and courage to do their best work.  

On this episode of Graduating Anxiety, Alex speaks to Christina Perdikoulias, the President and Chief Operating Officer of Digital Ed, a platform dedicated to shaping the world through digital learning-- specifically for STEM subjects. As the world has shifted heavily to online learning, it’s important that we get it right, for all kinds of students, with all kinds of learning styles and challenges. In large part, this is about customizing the experience and putting the student at the center of it, no matter what. On today’s episode, Alex and Christina discuss some of the challenges students face with digital learning and how platforms like Digital Ed’s Mobius are managing these challenges to make the learning experience more accessible for students.

Key Takeaways:  

• The global education market is ready to shift their longstanding approaches and reimagine what it means to put the student at the centre of the experience. This means providing an accessible learning experience that students can customize to suit their needs
• STEM is especially difficult to teach as there are so many layers to it and when students fall behind on one concept, they’re immediately behind on everything. Platforms like Mobius allow students to work within their only timelines so they can spend as much time as needed on a topic to be successful.
• So many people are even struggling to find a quiet space to work, much less find the proper tools and mindset, so as educators we need to be meeting people where they are, including segmenting the instruction and breaking it into pieces so it’s easier to customize.