FOR STUDENTS

Reject the hype. You are a bright student with a bright future! You know this, yet you may not believe it yet and may not have started visioning life after high school. I get it! As a busy teen, there is already so much to do, and adding something significant like ‘what you’re going to do with your life’ or ‘where you’ll go to college’ feels overwhelming. I help students take the pressure off the entire ‘looking ahead’ process and help you identify what motivates you, what inspires you, and where you think you will be most successful and happy.

To begin, we work together to define what matters to you! Your voice and vision. It’s about you— your learning style and experience, your interests outside the classroom, your academic ‘profile’, your interpersonal skills, passions, interests, hobbies, and needs in order to be successful where ever your path takes you. Yes, it’s a lot to consider, but I’ll help break it all down into manageable steps that take the stress out and inspire you as you accomplish each hurdle along the way.

Planning for the next stop on your educational journey does include managing details at a busy time in your life. However, committing early and truly engaging in the process is enlightening, empowering and may end up saving time in the long run as you’ll be more clear about what you need in order to be successful.

Center to my work is helping students develop and own their personal story or ‘narrative’, a flexible definition, not to categorize or box you in, but one that helps you feel comfortable branching out. This requires on-going assessment of who you are and what you want. I enjoy working with teenagers as they develop self-confidence through our confidential, low pressure session.  I hold my students, not their parents, accountable for showing up ready to do the work.  I, too, will be there to guide the process as we develop your Circles of Influence and Personalized Education Roadmap, invaluable tools encouraging reflection, instead of completing an exercise.

Very few teens know what they truly want to do. That’s okay, you should try new things, you may go a different path, fail once or twice. Good for you! This process is unique for each student and critical for development and growth.

You’ll be challenged to creating- or deepen - your sense of purpose, identifying what and who is important - and why. You may shift your approach from ‘checking off boxes’ for outside approval -to engaging deeply in the process because it’s important to you. It may not be comfortable to reflect on challenges or set-backs you may have have faced or unusual circumstances in your life. However, that’s usually when growth and positive change occurs, and allows you to be known, really know. I encourage you to embrace your story as it influences your narrative.

l offer a calm, safe and confidential space for students to explore many things, including the kind of student, friend and community member they want to be. As a result, they have a much more compelling story to share with colleges or others and a proactive, thoughtful student emerges with direction and purpose.