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The Counselor’s Podcast.

The Counselor's Podcast™, a service of the Naviance Network™, features leading voices from the counseling community speaking on topics of professional interest. These podcasts are available free-of-charge. Click the title of a podcast to play it in your browser or use iTunes or your favorite RSS reader to subscribe to The Counselor's Podcast so you'll never forget to download the latest episode.

Current Podcast

• 6.16.2008 :: Reflect, Rejoice, Revitalize
  Dr. Tamara Davis will share her ideas and encouragement as you look to reinvigorate yourself this summer. She has been an elementary and high school counselor and is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology in the School Counseling Program at Marymount University in Virginia. Dr. Davis is a national trainer for ASCA and the National Model for School Counseling Programs. In 2007, she was recognized with the ASCA Counselor Educator of the Year award. In addition, she is an author and contributor to various journals and has presented at many conferences.

Coming Soon

• Thank you for an exceptional school year. The Counselor's Podcast will return in September. Have a great summer!

Previous Podcasts

• 5.12.2008 :: What to Expect in Your First Semester
  Melissa Mellott, M.Ed. is the author of The Little College Handbook: A First Generation's Guide to getting in and staying in. She has a Master's degree from Azusa Pacific University in Higher Education Administration and has worked in college admissions and student affairs for more than 10 years. Originally from a small ranching town in Southern Colorado, she was a low-income and first generation college student. From her personal and professional experiences, Melissa sincerely understands the challenges first generation college students face when planning for college. For more information, visit www.educationdefined.wordpress.com.
• 4.14.2008 :: The Hidden Cost of College
  Jennifer Abel is the President and CEO of College Coordinator LLC. She is the author of Collegiate Admissions Guidebook. She graduated from the University of Arizona and while a student she was awarded the Frederick J. Cox Scholarship, which honors the victims of September 11, 2001. Giving back to the community and supporting continuing education is a major component of the business model. Her mission is to furnish each and every high school student, looking to further their education, with the tools needed to achieve their dreams. Regardless of socioeconomic class, her guidebook inspires and encourages students to pursue their dreams and goals of higher education.
• 3.10.2008 :: Avoiding the Senior Year Frenzy: Helping Juniors to Prepare Early
  Eva Maria Garza serves the Austin community in multiple ways. Not only is she a college advisor at Austin High School, she also serves as a faculty member at Austin Community College. She has developed and delivered college awareness training to Austin Independent School District families, counselors and teachers, as well as at national and state conferences. In addition, she works closely to assist non-profit organizations guide low-income, first generation students in applying to college.
• 2.11.2008 :: Improving Student Success
  Tammi Mackenben is a school counselor from Ernesto Serna PK-8 School in El Paso, Texas, and winner of the School Counselor of the Year Award from the American School Counselor Association. Tammi has been working as a professional school counselor for eight years, providing support to individual students as well working with entire classrooms to help today's students become tomorrow's productive, contributing members of society. In this special episode of The Counselor's Podcast which honors National School Counseling Week, Tammi discusses ideas for improving student success through the development of a comprehensive school counseling program.
• 1.14.2008 :: Advising the Student Athlete in College Admissions
  Nancy Icenhower is the Director of Guidance Services in West Windsor-Plainsboro, a very competitive New Jersey school district, where she oversees counseling in ten schools including two high schools. Nancy has been an educator for thirty years and holds a master’s degree in both education and counseling. She is a LPC in the state of NJ and is also certified as a NCC (Nationally Certified Counselor). She is an adjunct teacher at The College of New Jersey in the graduate program for Counselor Education. Prior to entering the counseling profession, Nancy taught health and physical education and coached high school athletes. She is also the mother of two collegiate athletes.
• 12.3.2007 :: Choosing a Rural College
  Terry Cowdrey is Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. During her 25-year admission career, she has also worked at Vanderbilt University, Pomona College, Wesleyan University, and the University of New Hampshire. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of The Common Application and has held leadership positions in many regional and national organizations. She is a frequent and favorite panelist at conferences nationwide.
• 11.12.2007 :: Choosing a Small College
  J. Carey Thompson is Vice President for Enrollment and Student Planning Services at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. Before joining Centre College, he was Director of Admission at Furman University, his alma mater. Mr. Thompson holds a graduate degree from Vanderbilt University in Educational Leadership and actively participates in professional organizations at the regional and national levels. He speaks frequently at conferences and by invitation on issues of college admission counseling.
• 10.16.2007 :: The Personal Essay: Making the Connection
  Jonathan S. Katzenbach is Associate Dean of Admission at the University of Pennsylvania. He has been a member of Penn's admissions staff since fall 2003, serving previously as a Regional Director. He recruits students from Maryland, Washington DC, Arizona, and New Mexico, personally representing about 1200 applicants a year, and is a member of both the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and the Rocky Mountain Association for College Admission Counseling. Prior to working at Penn, Jonathan worked as an editor at Houghton Mifflin in Boston and as a high school English teacher.
• 9.6.2007 :: How Colleges Read Applications
  Shawn Abbott is currently Director of Admission at Stanford University. Previously, he was Senior Associate Director of Admissions at Columbia University and Assistant Director of Admissions at Boston University. He is a doctoral candidate in Higher Education Administration with a concentration in urban studies at Columbia University. In addition to his many contributions to the field of higher education, Shawn appeared as a member of the scholarship committee in the ABC reality show, The Scholar.
• 9.6.2007 :: Planning for College Admission (Spanish-language presentation)
  Yasmin Rivera-McGinnis is currently Associate Director of Admission at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She began her admission career at Boston University and has read tens of thousands of applications for college admission. In addition to the work she does on campus, Yasmin also educates students, parents and counselors about the admission process throughout the school year. She was most recently featured in “Counselors, what to do when colleges come to you” on nextstepmagazine.com.
• 6.4.2007 :: How to Spend Your Summer Vacation
  Joe Sheppard has been a member of the college counseling staff at Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts, since the early 1970s. A member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and the New England Association for College Admission Counseling (NEACAC), Mr. Sheppard is a regular convention attendee and a frequent visitor to college campuses. In addition to college counseling, Mr. Sheppard teaches two French classes and nurtures a lifelong love of music, playing piano in two New Orleans jazz bands.
• 5.14.2007 :: The 3 R's of the Gap Year: Rewards, Risk, and Reflection
  Phil Trout is Director of College Counseling at Mounds Park Academy in Saint Paul, MN. His more than 25 years of experience in the college counseling and admissions profession include positions at Shattuck-St. Mary's School and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, as well as at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) and at the College of William and Mary. He currently serves on the NACAC Fiscal Oversight Committee and on the Midwestern Regional Council of the College Board. He is a frequent presenter at national and regional conferences on the topic of high school transcripts and profiles. In 2005, he was the recipient of the Minnesota ACAC Distinguished Service Award.
• 4.9.2007 :: The Myth of the One and Only College
  Tom Rajala has served as Associate Provost for Enrollment at University of the Pacific, in Stockton, California, since 1999. Prior to that, he served as Director of Admissions at Boston University from 1991 to 1999. He began his admissions career at American University while pursuing a master's degree in Communication and Education. Tom served as Director of Admissions at American from 1987 to 1991, and he has taught English at the high school and middle school levels.
• 4.9.2007 :: Beginning the College Process (Spanish-language presentation)
  Gloria Zelaya is currently college counselor at The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, and View Park Preparatory Accelerated Charter High School in Los Angeles, California. Previous to her work in college counseling she worked in admissions at Boston University and most recently at Loyola Marymount University.
• 3.7.2007 :: Making the Most of College Visits
  Bruce G. Hammond is Director of College Counseling at Sandia Preparatory School in Albuquerque, NM. He previously served as Managing Editor of the Fiske Guide to Colleges and is co-author of four books in the Fiske series. He is also moderator of NACAC's Non-AP/AP Concerns Special Interest Group. Mr. Hammond teaches Economics at Sandia Prep and holds an M.A.T. from Brown University.
• 2.12.2007 :: Counselor Recommendations: Gathering the Information You Need
  Marcia Hunt is is the Director of College Counseling at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She is a past president of both the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling, as well as a past member of the Common Application Board of Directors. She is currently a reader for both Coca Cola Scholars and Presidential Scholars.
• 1.16.2007 :: Great Counseling Begins with Listening
  Will Dix is currently college counselor at the University of Chicago Laboratory High School. He has worked on all sides of the college admission process during his career. He taught high school juniors and seniors before becoming an admission officer at Amherst College, then worked for a consulting firm specializing in college and university marketing research and development before becoming a college counselor. In addition to his work at the University of Chicago Laboratory High School, Mr. Dix does volunteer college counseling at a small public charter school in the south Loop of Chicago and also volunteers as a "liner" at the National Runaway Switchboard.
• 12.6.2006 :: Managing the December Madness
  Dr. Jonathan Reider has been the Director of College Counseling at San Francisco University High School for the past six years. Before that, he served in the Stanford Admissions Office for fifteen years, and also taught in a "Great Books"-type Humanities course. He was the Chair of the NACAC Committee on Current Trends and Future Issues from 2002-2004. Dr. Reider holds a Ph.D. in European History from Stanford.
• 11.6.2006 :: Managing Student and Parent Expectations
  Dr. Cathy Curtis is a college counselor at Shanghai American School in China. Cathy Curtis has 35 years experience working with students, 25 of which have been spent in international schools. She is a regular speaker at conferences for NACAC, ECIS, Overseas ACAC, and the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools. She holds a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and has counseled and taught in both secondary and post-secondary institutions.
• 11.6.2006 :: Special Edition: Straight Talk on SAT Optional
  Monica Inzer became Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at Hamilton College in 2004. She was formerly dean of undergraduate admission and student financial services at Babson College in Wellesley, MA. Prior to her position at Babson, Monica was director of admissions at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, MA, director of annual giving at Moses Brown School in Providence, RI and held admission and development positions at The Gunnery School in Washington, CT. She is a frequent speaker at national conferences and a regular media source on college admission topics.
• 10.16.2006 :: Interviews: Do They Matter?
  Matthew J. DeGreeff is Director of College Counseling at Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts. Before coming to Middlesex School, Mr. DeGreeff spent ten years working in both admissions and financial aid at Harvard College, which requires admission interviews. He has read thousands of college applications and personally advised hundreds of students on shaping their candidacy for admission. Mr. DeGreeff's professional organization memberships include NACAC and the College Board, and he is a frequent speaker at College Board conferences. He is currently president of the Boston Independent Schools College Counselor's Association (BISCCA).
• 9.25.2006 :: Teachers: How to Avoid Being Wrecked by Recommendations
  Linda Connelly is a Post-High School Counselor at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois with over 20 years experience in public school teaching and counseling. For the last decade, she has been active in local counseling organizations such as the Chicago Area College Counseling Association and the Chicago Area Naviance Network, and she also participates in Illinois ACAC and NACAC. She has created college process materials for, and delivered numerous presentations to, the faculty at New Trier High School.
• 9.12.2006 :: Helping Students Write Effective College Essays
  Rafael S. Figueroa is Director of College Counseling at Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico. Ralph brings a wealth of college admission counseling experience to his presentation. Having worked in the admission offices of Occidental College (CA) and Wesleyan University (CT), Mr. Figueroa has evaluated thousands of student essays and was profiled in Jacques Steinberg’s book, The Gatekeepers. Mr. Figueroa is a frequent speaker on issues of multiculturalism and affirmative action at both national and regional conferences. He holds a B.A. from Stanford University and a J.D. from UCLA, and is a member of the California Bar.

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