Helping you guide your child through the college process.
Links to material in or related to this conversation:
Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology
Manufacturing Expo/Careers in Manufacturing (podcast episode)
California University of Pennsylvania
Have a question about Thaddeus Stevens or careers in technical (STEM) fields? Leave a question or comment below, and Warren will answer it for you!
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One of the biggest barriers that students face when choosing a college is answering the question, “What am I going to do with my life?” If they decide to attend college, unless they have answered that question, they risk missing out on the best that college can offer. So, how can you figure out what you’re going to do with your life?
In today’s episode I lay out the details of True North, a program that I offer through personal coaching or as part of the My College Life Coach membership site. True North reverse-engineers the big dilemma of a student’s direction in life by asking three basic questions:
In the program we start from where the student is by defining their Best Me, then create their Best Life, and end with the framework for the Best Career. Their True North is now a set of criteria with which to make a number of very important decisions as they go through life, not the least of which is a.) whether to attend college and b.) which college is the best fit.
Resources mentioned in or related to this episode:
“The Importance of Choosing a Major Before You Attend College” interview
“How Your Values (Should) Influence Your College Choice” blog post
“How Your Values Can Help You Choose a College” podcast
Gallup’s StrengthsQuest assessment
Holy Discontent by Bill Hybels
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What happens when you wake up and realize that you’re not where you want to be in life? What if you’ve done everything that you’re “supposed to” and it isn’t that great? You have two options: bury your head in the sand or change and use the experience to help others – you make your mess a message.
Adam Carroll is a nationally recognized speaker in the field of college financing, but he doesn’t work for a bank. He works for students and their families, educating them about how to pay for college without drowning in debt. But he hasn’t always been perfect in this area; he was a “rich college kid” using credit cards and student loans to finance the life he’d been accustomed to when living with his parents.
Fortunately, a friend of his gave him a wake up call, and now Adam spends much of his time sharing that same message with college students today. Take notes as he gives advice to college students based on what he did and what he wishes he would have done, especially the concept of “side hustle” and being entrepreneurial while in college.
Links to resources mentioned in the interview (and related):
Adam’s previous interview on MCLC (014: Strategies for Paying for College)
Adam’s website featuring his two TED talks
Outliers book
Talent Is Overrated book
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Are you interested in a career in business? If so, what if you could “try it on for size” for a week to see if you like it before committing to the major in college? Then you need to check out Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week!
Kevin Chen takes a break from his classes at UC Berkeley to share his experience at PFEW during the summer before his senior year in high school. Among other things, he learned about a number of key components of business during his time at PFEW:
Resources discussed in the interview:
Pennsylvania Free Enterprise Week
Future Business Leaders of America
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While some students find the school that captures the perfect combination of personal preferences and career preparation, others are faced with the reality of giving up certain things that they want in a college in order to get what’s most important.
Riana Catanzaro, who will graduate from the Fashion Institute of Technology in just three years, offers a valuable perspective for students in the second camp, those who prioritize the desired destination over some of the frills available at other schools. Riana gives students and families great advice during our conversation, including:
Riana also discusses the particulars of choosing FIT and the factors she weighed.
What she gave up by going to FIT:
The benefits of going to school at FIT:
Lastly, Riana closes the conversation with advice to students who are planning to attend college. Take notes!
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One of the most exciting – and potentially scary – things about college is the opportunity each student has to step outside their comfort zone, to cross the threshold of the familiar and create a new life on campus. However, many students aren’t as adventurous as they claim to be, and college can become just another comfort zone.
Joe Golonka returns to the podcast to discuss the third College Life Skill in our series of conversations: the importance of stepping out of the familiar into the unknown.
During the interview we discuss a number of topics related to the comfort zone, including
We also question whether college actually reinforces the comfort zone concept, and wrap up the conversation with the benefits of stepping out.
Resources related to this topic:
The Need to be an Individual (Skill #1)
Failure as a Path to Success (Skill #2)
The Dream Giver book
The Art of Self-Directed Learning (blog post about the book)
Leave a comment! Let me and Joe know what you think about comfort zones and challenges for/ideas to step out of your comfort zone at college, especially after sophomore year.
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