Advertise on podcast: The Highway to Higher Ed

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex talks to Nina Berler of unCommon Apps. Nina advises high school students and their families, focusing on how applicants can differentiate themselves in the admissions process. Previously, Nina was college counselor and curriculum consultant at The Hudson School in Hoboken, New Jersey. She has also advised educational startups. Prior to transitioning to K-12 education, Nina directed the Executive Education business for KPMG. Nina is a Professional Member, Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA), and a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). Her blogs and articles have appeared in forbes.com, Parentology, College Confidential and LINK for Counselors. In this episode Nina and Alex talk about; Nina’s background, how she got into college counseling, some of her challenges, how student should prepare for college interviews, suggestions for things to do after the interviews, how the process has changed, trends parents should be aware of and some parting advice for parent of students partaking in college interviews.

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex talks to Hamzah Henshaw of Five Before College. Born and raised in Boston, he accepted Islam in 1994 while attending St. Mark’s, a suburban boarding school in Southborough, MA. He graduated from Harvard College, where he concentrated in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations with a minor in economics. He began his career in the field of Islamic Finance, working for Rockefeller in New York and Saudi Arabia. Hamza transitioned to the field of education and got various opportunities to teach at the top institutes around the world. He has been Dean of students at Al-Noor Academy overseeing the dual enrollment program, and serving as the college/guidance counselor for the high school. During COVID, when everything shutdown and whole the world turned to online, he began to share his experiences online and helped thousands of students in various parts of the world with diverse backgrounds. That became a stepping stone for his current initiative: Five Before College. Alex and Hamzah discuss; Hamzah’s background and path into teaching, how he transition into college counselling, methodology in his consulting, helping Islamic students pursue higher education while remaining true to their faith, his impressions of the landscape evolution in the current age and finally shares a story of a students college essay which got him a call from the President of Mexico.

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex talks to Melissa Bildner of Live Better Training. With almost 20 years of experience living with and parenting kids with ADHD and executive function challenges, this unique situation has empowered Melissa to develop a unique and practical set of skills and strategies to living with kids who have ADHD. Formally trained as a Certified Professional Coach, an ADHD Parent Coach and Personal Trainer, Melissa also has training in Collaborative Problem Solving from Dr. Stuart Ablon at Think Kids. Her personal experiences combined with her formal training make her uniquely qualified to provide an authentically supportive and empathetic coaching experience, allowing parents to feel heard and understood and combine this feeling with offering practical strategies that parents can easily implement into their own parenting style. In this episode Alex and Melissa discuss; her background, how having kids and a husband with ADHD has helped her be more effective, the challengers she’s faced balancing business and being a parent, listing different parts of her practice, sharing success stories and changes and also sharing advise for parents of students she coaches.

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex talks to Gregg Pauletti of RCHI Group and the brand new Changing Minds organization. After completing his Masters in Counseling at PACE University, Gregg was trained by the preeminent scholar in the field of Cognitive Remediation, Dr. Alice Medalia from Columbia University, in the NEAR Model of Cognitive Remediation. Gregg is the co-founder of Changing Minds of Stamford, highlighted by emergent MeRT treatment. MeRT targets specific brain patterns and quite literally reprograms the brain He went on to help develop and direct the first non-residential cognitive remediation program in Connecticut. In this interview he is joined by his colleague Tobias Halene MD PhD and together they discuss; their backgrounds and how the got involved with MeRT, the services of Changing Minds, why Changing Minds was set up, the process, outcomes for clients with ADHD, the risks, personal experiences with the process and how MeRT stacks up in the cognitive landscape.

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex talks to Meghan Lahey of Steinbrecher & Partners. Meghan has designed a multi-session program and handbook for college-bound students and their parents, giving numerous presentations on navigating high school successfully, college readiness and finding the right fit. She also ran two comprehensive school leadership programs – Caprice Advisors and Peer Leaders – helping scores of students develop their talents and abilities. Within this episode she discusses with Alex her background, the types of student she works with, how she works with them, listing numerous organizations helping students transition out of therapeutic programs. Meghan also discusses her challenges, how the pandemic has changed her business and gives some advice for parents and student considering a transitional program.

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex talks to Jennifer Benson, a Therapeutic Educational Consultant at the School Solution, a consultation and placement service for families with a child who is struggling in his or her current environment despite therapeutic and academic supports. Jennifer and Alex discuss Jennifer’s background, what got her into education consulting, what the School Solution is, the types of students they work with, their signature service, their philosophy, options for therapeutic schools, the intake process, the impact it can have on the families of students and advice for parents of students who are looking at therapeutic schools as an option.

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex talks to Molly Levine, the co-founder and CEO of Lemon Tree Learning and brings a wealth of experience, with a career spanning over 15 years, dedicated to supporting families and students in the domains of test preparation, general academic assistance, and executive functioning support. In this episode Molly and Alex talks about Molly’s background, her partnership with her husband, the services Lemon Tree offer, standardized testing for secondary schools, the similarities and differences between ISEE, SSAT and SHSAT tests, the importance of the tests on the application process, the impact of the post-pandemic era on secondary school testing and advice for parents of younger students looking at secondary testing.

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex talks to Kristina Dooley, the founder of Estrela Consulting. Previously she’s served as the Assistant Director of Admission at Hiram College (OH) and as the Director of Admissions and Marketing at Andrews Osborne Academy (OH). In addition to her work with students, Kristina has served as President of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) and President of State of Mind: Hudson, a non-profit mental health organization. Within this episodes Alex and Kristina discuss how Kristina got into college consulting, her time as the President of the IECA, certification programs for college consulting, her thoughts on prototypical midwestern small liberal arts schools, their strengths and shortcomings, her favorite schools in the Midwest, how the post-pandemic era has impacted these school and Kristina’s thoughts on the current trends students and parents should be aware of.

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex talks to Chad Dorman the founder of Leonard Andrew Consulting. A graduate of The Gunnery (Washington, CT) and the University of Vermont, Chad spent the early years of his career teaching English, Creative Writing, and Public Speaking before venturing out into the world of business. After a time, Chad realized that he desired a return to the world of education, but that he could take the skills he gained in the corporate setting and meld them with his education background, expansive network of contacts, knowledge of the admissions system and start a business that would give clients the edge in their own applications. The result was Leonard Andrew Consulting - a business built on the desire to see every client reach their potential - while applying, during their studies and beyond. Alex and Chad discuss Chads background, his business’ core philosophy and objectives, his services, how he utilizes film, how the NIL policies have impacted recruiting, the post pandemic landscape and some parting advice for young adults and their parents.

In this episode of Highway to Higher ED, Alex talks to Rebekah Elmore of Peak Consulting. She received her BS in Education from Wheelock College (now part of Boston University) in Boston MA, not far from her hometown of Exeter, New Hampshire. She went on to be a middle school teacher where she taught in Westfield, New Jersey. She raised her four children, two girls and two boys and moved into the business world for seven years, using leadership and managerial skills to run a multi-million dollar company of over 200 contracted employees. Using her business knowledge and her love for education and children, she opened PEAK when she realized there was a need for college consulting as she went through the process with her own children. Ultra organized, and passionate about finding the right college fit for each student, she knew she could use her personable touch and way with students, to become a successful Independent Educational Consultant. In this episode Rebekah talks about; her background, how being a parent shaped her approach to college consulting, how she works with students, how the post-pandemic climate has impacted the process of identifying students and targeting schools, some success stories and advice for parents and students.

In the last episode, we focused on small liberal arts schools in the midwest. We now turn to a different, perhaps much broader segment of the student population: those students in suffering from anxiety and related disorders. We’ll be focusing particularly on navigating the many challenges presented to those non-traditional path students, as it can be fairly complex for parents. I’ll be joined by Dr. Dan Villiers of The Anxiety Institute in his second appearance on the podcast… Dr. Dan Villiers brings over twenty years of experience working with children, adolescents, young adults and families in a range of clinical and educational settings. In 2011, Dr. Dan co-founded Mountain Valley Treatment Center, the first non-hospital residential program for the treatment of adolescent anxiety in the United States. His successful intervention model, a compassionate approach to assess, educate, and motivate avoidant and resistant school-aged anxiety sufferers, has assisted more than 500 families in their pursuit of treatment. Dr. Dan has presented at universities and conferences across the country, authored numerous articles on child mental health, and appeared on radio and TV as a subject matter expert on adolescent anxiety.

In this episode of Highway to Higher ED, Alex talks to Keith Wilkerson the founder and owner of College Thoughts, an organization that helps good students go to great colleges by focusing on self-discovery and not stress. With more than two decades of experience helping students attend great middle schools, high schools, and college, Keith is now focused on helping strong students to move on to the best colleges in the nation. Alex and Keith talk about; Keith background and what got him into college counseling, his approach, his company’s core philosophy, the ideal path for students, the importance of college essay writing, bringing out a student authentic voice, the importance of metaphor, the evolution of college applications and how they’ve impacted the role in college essay writing and a lot more.

In this episode of Highway to Higher ED, Alex talks to Johnathan Dunn, a college counsellor for over thirty years, thirteen of which have been at Fairmount Preparatory Academy and Fairmount International School in Southern California. As one of only approximately 350 Certified Educational Planners or CEPs in the world, he is especially well qualified to work with students and their families. within this episode Johnathan talks about his background, how that’s impacted his approach to college counselling, his core philosophies and objectives within his role, the types of students he comes into contact with, differences between small and large universities, regional differences in colleges, how the post-pandemic climate has impacted schools and advice for parents of young adults going through the admissions process.

In this episode of Highway to Higher ED, Ken talks to Niki Kelman the founder and director of New England education consultants. She’s serves as director of admissions and has been instrumental in serving four different Universities in the North East. Niki holds an MS in Higher Education Administration, a proud member of the independent educational consultants association and has been a director of admission in a private high school. In this episode Ken and Niki discuss how Niki got into education consulting, ways to help families find the fit when looking at colleges, the reorientation of the college admissions criteria, ways students can improve their college applications, challenges students face, the importance of using professional college counselors, as well as sharing some of her success stories and advice to parents of students applying for college.

In this episode of Highway to Higher ED, Alex talks to Sawyer Earwood, an education professional who has worked in both college admission offices and small startups. His admissions experience has taken him across the U.S.A. and Asia. Sawyer is currently a member of College Consultants of Colorado, a Professional Member of IECA, and a Certified Educational Consultant (CEP). Within IECA, Sawyer serves on both the DEI and Global. Within this episodes Alex and Sawyer discuss Sawyers background, how he got into college counseling, his experiences with what he calls launch operation, his role within the IECA, his process with clients, virtual tutoring, and trends he has noticed that students and parents should be aware of.