The Highway to Higher Ed

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.

In this episode of Highway to Higher ED, Alex talks to Robert Khoury CEO of Agile Rainmakers, a high-impact business development consulting and advisory firm based in Chicago’s Gold Coast, and co-author of the book How to Intern. Alex and Robert discuss

numerous subjects, centered around internships, including; what drew Robert to offer internships, the best parts and challenges, recruiting interns, what interns can do to make the most of their internships, some ways to transition into the professional world, how the

pandemic changed internships and advice for young people looking into internships and the professional world.

In this episode of Highway to Higher ED, Alex talks to Yvonne Espinoza CEP, an Austin-based college counsellor who works with students in Austin and across the country, assisting each of her clients to be as competitive as possible to be accepted to college. Within this episode Yvonne talks about her background and how she got into college consulting, her

relationship with students, her favorite part of college consulting, the preparation process for 9th and 10th-graders, the challenges facing younger high school students when planning for the college application process and how the

pandemic impacted college applications.

In this episode of Highway to Higher ED, Alex talks to Ken Hincker, a teacher, coach, dorm parent and advisor in high school education for over twenty years. Ken taught at three institutions in the south, including Savannah Country Day School, before migrating to The Taft School in 2011, serving as its English Chair for five years and acting as soccer coach, dorm head, and advisor. He has since transitioned to executive function coaching and tutoring in the Fairfield area, serving as the Executive Director to Alliance Tutoring. Within this episode Ken discusses his background and how he got into teaching, his shift to tutoring, executive function coaching, the types of clients he serves, success stories and the current challenges he faces.

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex talks to Casie Fariello, co-founder of Other

Parents Like Me (OPLM). OPLM is a virtual membership platform led by parents for

parents of teens and young adults struggling with mental health issues and/or

substances. They have daily support groups, live weekly speaker talks and monthly

experts panels, as well as thousand of resources, providing a safe and anonymous space

for parents and caregivers. Casie talks about her background and how she got into parent

support groups, as well as; how the OPLM works, the different groups linked through

OPLM, how members can contribute, success stories, challenges facing a child with

alternative psych or learning profiles, the impact of the pandemic, trends parents should

be aware of and much more.

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex is joined by Deborah

Shames of Personal Best College Coaching, which she founded in 2003. She now

heads a team of six counsellors who work to help families navigate the complex

world of first year and transfer college admissions. Within this episode

Deborah and Alex talk about Deborah’s background, her companies philosophy,

when she starts working with student, the college application process for both

first time and transferring students, success stories, reason for student

dropouts, the impact of the pandemic on admissions and gives advice for parents

of transferring students.

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex talks to Adrienne Frumberg, the founder

of Lighthouse Guidance, who specializes in helping to identify a students

passions and guiding them on a path to achieving them, whether it is getting

accepted to the college of their dreams or preparing for a rewarding career.

Adrienne talks about her background, dealing with the challenges of some of her

clients, the uniqueness of Lighthouse Guidance, her work at the Dorm and

Academics West, as well as how the pandemic has impacted both the work she does

as well as the students, giving advise to parents of students who have been

impacted by the pandemic.

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex is joined by Lloyd Nimetz, founder of Spike Lab. Spike Lab is a program that coaches high school students through the process of identifying, launching and growing an entrepreneurial venture. Within this episode Lloyd talks about his background, Spike Labs mission and its unique approach, why he think entrepreneurial development is important, a success story of one of his students, how the pandemic has impacted student innovation, trends he has seen his students follow and gives advice to parent of students who would benefit using Spike Lab.

In this episode of Highway to higher Ed, Alex talks to Laurie Kopp Weingarten of One Stop College Counselling, who specialize in applications to the top 25 schools, which she has done for over a decade. Laurie Kopp talks about

how she got into college consulting, what makes her consultancy unique, the process her students go through, the ideal time to begin planning applications. She also discusses the impact of test blind and test optional trends, how high

schools should approach course selection, the ideal parent involvement and shares stories on previous success and transitional struggles her students have experienced when going to college.

 In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex is joined by Janae McCullough-Boyd, founder and CEO of More Than Athletics, LLC. Janae quickly realized during her oldest son’s recruiting process, that for him to be able to choose the college that was the best fit for him, they had to be proactive in the academic and recruiting process. Basically, looking for the best fit school, takes hustle and grit, which consists of time, effort, education on the process, and a lot of patience for the student-athlete and their family. Alex and Janae talk about the numerous facets of Janae’s consultancy, from complications in finding the right schools, managing a students expectations, preparing a student academically well in advance, the role of high school coaches and relationships with coaches playing a key role. They also discuss ways of improving a students chances, a success story and tips of mitigating the struggles student athletes can have when transitioning. 

In this episode of Highway to Higher Ed, Alex is joined by Drew Boudreau, owner of College Audition Pros. As an actor, Drew's credits include regional theatre across the country, OffBroadway, national tours, cruise ships & more. As a teacher, Drew loves helping students & their families boost their confidence in their college auditions, giving them the keys to elevate their performances & maximize their admissions. Alex and Drew discuss the musical theatre application process, give advice for parents of students seeking to pursue a path in musical theatre, the challenges of the application process, the future changes of musical theatre higher education, how best to prepare for them and advice for parents of younger students.

In this episode of Highway to higher Ed, Alex talks to Michele Evard of Evard Consulting. Michele is a veteran in the field not only of college applications for non-traditional students but also of homeschooling, having home schooled her own three children. Michele talks about the uniqueness of her practice, the different education profiles she experiences in her practice, how the pandemic has impacted her clientele, the differences of the process for alternatively educated students, the support she gives families and the challenges non-traditionals face when transitioning to college.