It was a travel-filled week as the Amazon AWS EdStart Builders’ Workshop in Palo Alto kicked off just as the Super ACAC conference in Arizona wrapped up. After such a terrific few days with fellow counselors and college admissions teams, meeting such innovative members of the EdStart Program got me thinking about new creative solutions to help counselors and students through the college process. There is so much happening on the technical side that can support our planned Corsava features, I cannot wait! Discussing trends in admissions, meeting with potential partners, and learning about technical innovations to support our new applications combined to make the jump to summer and lead into fall all the more inspiring.
My Alaska flight just hit 10,000 feet, the throngs of people that constitute O’Hare on a late Friday afternoon are behind me, and I am excited to be heading for an 80-degree and sunny (surprise!) weekend back home in Seattle. The IECA conference was valuable, Chicago was at its best, and I am excited thinking about what’s ahead for Corsava after getting such great feedback from so many users. The cards made it into the College Essay Guy’s popular (and fast!) “60 College Application Tips in 60 Minutes” session, and it always makes my day to hear user stories about the impact the cards have had on so many students.
The counselor stories below, following on the heels of my previous Stories blog, have a common theme running through them–the power of personal connection. As life continues to speed up, f2f (as our team of developers likes to say) communication still has a valuable and powerful role in all of our lives, particularly those entering adulthood who have never experienced life without a smartphone.
There is something about September. To me, it outshines New Year’s when it comes to new beginnings and fresh starts. Here in Seattle, our fire-impacted brown August skies have returned to crisp blue, kids are excited to get back to school, and parents are ready for some more structure in their lives. Maybe it’s memories of back-to-school excitement, blank notebooks, new books, and enthusiastic teachers that translate into more grown-up inspiration. September just exudes that “get into high gear” mode as I consider new possibilities and innovative ways to approach my work.
As we get ready to launch new features in the coming weeks, I can’t help but think back to my original intent in creating Corsava. My goal has always been to help students everywhere think in new and impactful ways as they consider their options after high school. I never want to lose sight of the fact that as counselors we are here for students—to help them discover what is important to them as they consider their options, and balance this with the other facets of the process that will play a part in their final decision.
