College Unbound Podcast
Focus Collegiate provides comprehensive and boundless support to college students who learn differently. College UnBound is our podcast.
By capitalizing on strengths, we help students build the self-reliance they need to find success and joy in school. Because college should be fun… Join us as we discuss our philosophy, tactics, strategies, and all things college for diverse learners.
Season 2, Episode 4: You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know – A Parent’s Perspective with Mary Hoffman
About this episode:
November 18, 2021
Our society doesn’t often think of it this way, but the college experience is not limited to the student. A student’s transition from high school to college impacts the whole family. Parents especially play a very active role in the transition. And that role changes quite a bit over time.
Our subject is ‘You don’t know what you don’t know – A Parent’s Perspective.’ We have spoken to experts during this podcast, but truly there is no expertise like that of a parent. Our guest Mary Hoffman is the mom of four children, two have already graduated from college, and two twins – one in college now, the other taking a gap year.
Join us as we discuss the questions parents should be asking as their students move through the transition to college.
Season 2, Episode 3: You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know – A Conversation with College Counselor Eli Clarke
About this episode:
November 11, 2021
Every college and university is different. Given the curve ball thrown by the pandemic, colleges have had to recreate the wheel of college admissions every year. Which means that what we don’t know we don’t know about the admissions process is constantly changing. Our guest, Eli Clarke, Director of College Counseling at Commonwealth Academy (a college preparatory school in Alexandria Virginia for students with learning differences and executive functioning challenges) brings us closer to asking the right questions.
Eli has been working in the field of education for 30 years and has master’s in social work. He is the Director of College Counseling at Commonwealth Academy, a college preparatory school in Alexandria Virginia for students with learning differences and executive functioning challenges. He has served on 4 different University College Counseling Advisory boards and has been featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Washington Post, NPR, and Newsweek. In 2020, Eli was awarded for college counseling through the Colleges that Change Lives Association. He is a TikTok sensation. His handle is @Mr. C_CollegeCounselor.
Among our questions, we’ll explore:
- Why are so many afraid of the college admissions process?
- How many schools should you apply to?
- How do you find the right fit in a college?
- What happens when you don’t get into your “right fit” school?
- What about test optional schools?
- How can you stand out?
Season 2, Episode 2: You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know – A Conversation with Dr. Andrea Brenner
About this episode:
November 4, 2021
Does anyone really feel ready for college? Todays’ guest, author Dr. Andrea Malkin Brenner gives us some answers. Dr. Brenner is a First-year transition educator and speaker. She was a professor and first-year college administrator at American University in Washington, DC for 25 years. Her published works include the Talking College Card Deck, and she co-authored How to College: What to Know Before You Go (and When You’re There).
Dr. Brenner: “Here’s the good news: across the country, both public and private high schools are doing a pretty good job preparing college-bound students for academic content. As I like to tell high school seniors, don’t forget that the college you are attending accepted you—it has decided that you are college-ready… So don’t doubt that you are ready to be a college student in the classroom. Sure, there are more in-depth and complex college-level writing, reading, and studying techniques that will be taught in college, BUT there aren’t students in droves who are struggling with college-level academic material. However, where we do see students really struggling is with “adulting”—learning HOW to college. That includes everything from self-care to organization and time management, to professional skills needed at the college level, to communication with peers, to becoming their own advocate and finding their own resources.”
We discuss steps students and their parents can take to make the transition to college easier for everyone involved. Spoiler alert: Practice! We also explore parent partnering versus parent advocacy. College is very different today than it was thirty years ago when most parents attended. The college experience is new to both student and parent. We also touch on the importance of making and learning from mistakes.
Learn about Dr. Brenner and her new Talking College Card Deck here: https://www.ambrenner.com/
Season 2, Episode 1: You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
About this episode:
October 30, 2021
Our theme for Season Two of College UnBound is, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” We consult teachers, counselors, authors, directors of DEI and accessibility offices, college readiness experts, parents, students, and our listeners about the most pressing questions college students who learn differently face as they transition to college.
In this season introduction, Focus Collegiate Enrollment and Outreach Director, Ann-Marie Stripling and podcast host C. Jane Taylor interview Focus Collegiate’s Managing Director and Parent Support and Program Development Consultant, Leslie O’Brien about what parents don’t know they don’t know.
Did you know that for new college students, academics may not be as high a priority as the rest of the transition? The first semester is often more focused on setting a great foundation for ‘everything else.’ In this episode, we look beyond the academics at what ‘everything else’ means.
We explore the areas of self-advocacy, social life on campus, expectation management, changing parental roles, accommodations, and the dreaded and often unanticipated list of mandatory requirements colleges send out during the all-too-short window of preparation after acceptance and before the first day of class.
Episode 12: Life Skills for College and Beyond
About this episode:
March 25, 2021
This week on College UnBound, our topic is the acquisition of life skills. Many parents, and many school counselors for that matter, focus almost exclusively on academic skills. While paramount in college, this focus is only one part of a much bigger picture. Research shows, that how students use information to solve real-life problems and manage their daily lives may be a better indicator of success than cognition.
Focus Collegiate students generally already know how to use a digital calendar and check their email; they already have a sense of what is expected of them in school, even if they may not know exactly what is coming around the corner in college. Our challenge is to assist their development of the self-discipline or self-management necessary to make the best, most consistent use of the tools they have. Thus we work with students on developing repeatable, recurring ways to engage these skills within their novel context of college life.
Focus is one of the main pillars of self-discipline and dependent on what neuroscientists call executive functions. Working memory, impulse control, and cognitive flexibility are essential elements of executive functions and underly the student’s ability to set and pursue goals, prioritize activities, filter distractions, and control impulses. All of which are core to implementing life skills, regardless of the strategy. That’s where we start…
Episode 11: The Learning Profile
About this episode:
February 26, 2021
In this week’s podcast, we discuss the student learning profile. In the previous episode of College UnBound, we talked about the importance of college prep and how the Focus Collegiate Summer Cohort meets the needs of incoming students. Part of our ability to meet these needs relies on our understanding of each student’s unique learning profile.
Each profile is often related to, if not determined by, a psycho-educational diagnosis. And though the accommodations and IEPs students depend on in high school are also based on the diagnosis, many students don’t know or fully understand what their diagnosis is. When they are ready, we help students appreciate that their learning profile can be used as tool for strengths building and growth.
While our adage is people on paper aren’t real people, Focus Collegiate uses its own assessment tools to verify the diagnoses students are given. We balance our own findings and those of each diagnosis with each student’s abilities and volition to build comprehensive and appropriate strategies for academic and social success.
Episode 10: Summer Cohort
About this episode:
February 8, 2021
Preparation before college is one of the strongest predictors of future success; but many high school students look at college readiness in terms of simply applying to and getting into a university. Acceptance is just the beginning.
In this episode of College UnBound, we discuss the activities and outcomes students can expect to enjoy at our Summer Cohort.
Focus Collegiate’s college-readiness program, Summer Cohort is a metaphor for the college experience. During three weeks in residence at a private dormitory in Boston’s Beacon Hill, students get a taste for college life. Through coursework, skills building, structured self-directed activities, and fun social events, students deepen self-awareness, build resilience, and develop their independent living skills.
Episode 9: Parent Support
About this episode:
January 11, 2021
A great deal of news coverage has been focused on students and teachers. This week we focus on parents and how we support them.
The early college years are an important time of individuation. It’s time for students to find and build their independence, to figure out who they are and what they want to do with their life. Staying home makes that fledging more difficult for the student. It also makes it more difficult for parents to let go.
Many colleges are using extended breaks or remote learning as COVID-19 precautions which means more young adults than ever are home now than would be during a “normal” academic year. Some parents feel like they are in the hot seat.
Join us as we discuss the ways Focus Collegiate supports families as they gain skills for a smoother transition to college.
Episode 8: Building Resilience
About this episode:
Tue, 01 Dec 2020 09:00:00 -0500 ◦ 16 minutes
This week our topic is Resilience. The pandemic has been a global demonstration of our need for it. Resilience is the ability to adapt and thrive despite adversity. We’ve seen how resilience plays out in business. Adaptation has become the key to business survival. The same thing is true for college students. The development and cultivation of resilience is one of the primary predictors of college success.
Psychologist, Angela Duckworth, calls it grit. Duckworth says, “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is staying with your future day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years…Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
The marathon sounds like a tall order for a new college student. Join us as we discuss the ways in which we support our students develop resiliency and get ready for the long run
Episode 7: The Whys and Hows of Self-Advocacy
About this episode:
December 07, 2020
Welcome to Episode 7 of College UnBound. Our topic of discussion this week is Self-Advocacy. The experiential learning model we use with our college students is focused on the long-term predictors of college success. Primary among them is self-advocacy. It is one of the core competencies that impacts independent living.
No longer guided by an IEP, college students must seek out their own accommodations, find and fit into a new social niche, overcome stigmas, and beat low expectations—activities all demanding self-advocacy. Such skills enable students to participate actively in their learning and that of others.
In this episode we discuss why and how we support students in the development of the self-advocacy skills they will benefit from for a lifetime.
Episode 6: The Student Support Agreement
About this episode:
Mon, 23 Nov 2020 16:00:00 -0500 ◦ 16 minutes
This week we dig into the Student Support Agreement which is an expression of each student’s Learning Agenda. While the Learning Agenda outlines what students work on, the Student Support Agreement pinpoints how.
Focus Collegiate’s approach is based on student goals and student buy-in, without them, we and our students are nowhere. The Student Support Agreement ensures the incorporation of goals and commitment as it presents a Personal Balance Sheet of Strengths and Gaps. Knowing these suggests a framework for growth.
Built upon life skills, mental health, executive function, and resiliency self-assessments, the Student Support Agreement gives each student invaluable input into how we work together with them.
Episode 5: The Learning Agenda
About this episode:
Fri, 13 Nov 2020 16:00:00 -0500 ◦ 17 minutes
In Episode 5 of College UnBound, we discuss the Learning Agenda. An integral part of the Intentional Change Theory at the center of the unbounded support we provide college students who learn differently, the Learning Agenda is our road map.
Each unique Learning Agenda is the expression of how a student builds on their existing strengths while reducing their perceived gaps. Through honest dialogue with our students, we design the Learning Agenda to help them make decisions that accentuate their talents and abilities and keep them moving forward.
Episode 4: An Action-oriented Model for Change
About this episode:
Thu, 05 Nov 2020 10:00:00 -0500 ◦ 15 minutes
When he founded Focus Collegiate, Grant Leibersberger adopted the Intentional Change Theory (ICT) as the novel way to engage college students.
Having studied experiential education and directed trailblazing young adult transition programs, he knew that students striving to enter a more independent phase of their life needed a more innovative, less prescriptive approach more in keeping with the self-determination college represents. While Intentional Change Theory has applications for organizational change and leadership development, it is the perfect solution for young adults because of its relationship focus.
In this episode, we delve further into the neuroscience behind ICT, discuss positive emotional attractors and negative emotional attractors, and the importance of finding the balance between the two.
Episode 3: Exploring Intentional Change Theory
About this episode:
Thu, 29 Oct 2020 08:00:00 -0400 ◦ 13 minutes
This week on College UnBound we explore Intentional change theory. Initially developed by the Professor of Organizational Behavior, Psychology, and Cognitive Science at Case Western Reserve University, Richard Boyatzis, intentional change theory is the evidence-based, cyclical process we use with our students to create lasting positive change.
Episode 2: Getting Student Buy-In
About this episode:
Wed, 21 Oct 2020 14:00:00 -0400 ◦ 16 minutes
In our previous podcast, we discussed resonant relationships. Today we’ll delve into how Focus Collegiate inspires student engagement and collaboration. College can be a tricky time for anyone. Students can easily lose their direction and fall behind. How does the Focus Collegiate Team encourage students to get onboard with their own success? We have talked about acknowledging and capitalizing on a student’s strengths, what do you do to help students develop lagging areas? How does Focus Collegiate keep students accountable to their goals? How does Focus Collegiate keep parents accountable to their student’s goals?
Episode 1: Welcome to College UnBound
About this episode:
Wed, 14 Oct 2020 11:00:00 -0400 ◦ 25 minutes
Focus Collegiate was started to fill a gap in the higher education system. While high school students who learn differently are supported with IEPs and 504 learning plans, college students who learn differently are not. They are expected to fend for themselves, to find and ask for their own accommodations, to make and follow through with their own schedules, and just figure it all out. This is where Focus Collegiate come in.
We’re here today with Focus Collegiate founder, Grant Leibersberger to talk about how Focus Collegiate makes a difference for diverse learners in college.