Special Guest: Emily Dobson
Cooperative Counselor Extraordinaire
From devoted camp counselor to NACAC delegate, this truly creative and committed counselor knows that what worked to inspire campers can also be a great tool to motivate her students to think about their future…..scavenger hunts! We had the pleasure of talking with Emily Dobson last week and learning more about the games she develops to work in concert with Corsava, and what an inspiration it was! We always learn something new when connecting with our users, and this interview was no exception.
Emily is the only independent educational consultant in Porto Alegre, Brazil with decades of experience as a school-based counselor in both the US and Brazil. But don’t call her that! She explains that this term doesn’t do justice to what she does, and prefers to use “Cooperative Counselor.” That says a lot about her philosophy with her students and their families. It really resonated with me as she is a big fan of having her students take ownership of the process, supporting better engagement as her students take the lead.
As a delegate to NACAC and a board member of the International ACAC, Emily is an active member representing Latin American and Caribbean interests. As a leader in her network, she is very well connected and invited us to present to a wonderful group of counselors through the FPP EDU Media organization. She often goes into local schools to support staff and has created booklets for staff, parents, and students explaining teacher recommendations, financial aid, and the process of applying to international colleges.
We enjoyed learning more about how she incorporates Corsava into her college process, for students as young as middle school through those applying to graduate school. Graduate school is not an area we currently focus on, so it was intriguing to hear how Emily incorporates Corsava in that context. She finds that most graduate students have built their lists prior to meeting with her, selecting universities based solely on reputation or recommendations from friends, when in fact they would benefit from exploring other options. Important factors like, does the student’s family need to run around outside a lot or do they need access to specific activities may have been overlooked. This is where the card sort fosters critical discussions about community and values. Students revise their lists accordingly, thinking beyond academics and finding where they will be happy and successful.
Emily shared that one of the toughest jobs she has had to date was being a camp counselor in Southern California. Being a recent camper herself, this required leading her former peers. She became an expert in building fun ways for campers to become independent and creative in their paths, laying the groundwork for what she does with her students now. And that is where her scavenger hunts come in!
Emily uses scavenger hunt activities primarily during the spring when she has more time to tailor them to individual student needs. Here’s an example of an introductory scavenger hunt that can be used to help build a student's college vocabulary and awareness prior to starting their college search process in earnest. Emily points out that she doesn’t give students instructions to create accounts at this stage, but that they will often do so anyway and come back to her excited to share their card sort results. After they complete the sort, her students then have a set of tasks to complete as they search for colleges on their own based on their Corsava card preferences. She mixes and matches steps in the process, customizing them to fit each student. Some are great at research, but others are not. If she sees a direction she thinks a student needs to go in or wants to nudge them toward a specific resource, she creates a short scavenger hunt activity to lay the trail. She drops hints along the way, providing tips to help each student dig deeper into what matters most to them as colleges begin to bubble to the top. When they own their journey, good fit colleges slip more easily onto their lists and students are more excited about their choices.
I laughed when she shared that she color codes the college lists that emerge from her student’s research. Green colleges are great matches, oranges are questionable, and reds are bad fits. She leaves it to the student to decide if they want to keep these “misfits” on their lists after she weighs in, supporting student independence in the process.
Students who build their own lists are more vested in their lists and ultimately feel more confident in their college choices. Plus, where there are scavenger hunts, there are prizes! She often will give those who complete their scavenger hunts successfully a free hour of her time, but the real prize is becoming one of her interns.
This led to a fascinating discussion about her interns and their latest project. Often, her interns are from different parts of the world (Brazil and Nepal, for example), representing diverse economic and cultural backgrounds. Watching these interns work together to build a financial aid guide for international students has been immensely rewarding. International financial aid is a very complex process, taking years to learn and always changing. Her students have been helpful in driving the guide, taking the lead on how best to present the content to their peers, providing graphics, and seeking out international voices to share sample communications, all while working together across borders and time zones in the midst of a global pandemic! Watch for some of Emily’s financial aid tools to be shared by the College Essay Guy soon.
Emily doesn’t limit Corsava to her students. Parents love seeing the Corsava Report as it clarifies how and why each college earned its place on their student’s list. And she encourages parents to do their own card sort too. Since parents often have a different perspective than their students, doing their own sort provides the springboard for a group conversation. This empowers parents by making them part of the team, giving them more confidence throughout a sometimes unfamiliar process. Parents often ask why a card is in a certain category and it opens discussions about, for example, calling financial aid offices, giving them something concrete to do.
Emily appreciates that the Corsava card sort thoroughly prepares students for their interviews, as they know a lot more about each school and can be specific when they look at their ROI. She hears anecdotally that they are more memorable to interviewers too.
But most of all, she loves the colorful and fun nature of Corsava because so much of the fun has been taken out of the college process for this generation. She loves that it stimulates deep conversations and supports her “it takes a village” approach by bringing parents and schools into the process in a positive way. It opens so many possibilities, getting counselors and parents involved, building on research, and leading to a more successful and happier process overall.
Emily said that the well thought out base provided by Corsava opens a world of possibilities for her students. We could not ask for a better compliment. Thank you Emily!