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 a ..read more

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 famili ..read more

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 impor ..read more

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 ..read more

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 ..read more

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 interns ..read more

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 i ..read more

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 in ..read more

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, ho ..read 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 par ..read more