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college counseling

603: Leading Through Chaos: 7 Superpowers for Uncertain Times with Angel Pérez

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SHOW NOTES

Welcome back to the podcast! Ethan is joined today by Angel Pérez, CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). Angel has just written a new book on leadership called The Hottest Seat on Campus. It’s written for leaders on college campuses, but the advice he gives is applicable to leaders everywhere, whether you are a college counselor leading in your office, a parent leading in your home, or even a student leading in your school or community.

In their conversation, Angel and Ethan discuss:

  • How does Angel define leadership?

  • Why is detachment so important (and how do we do it)?

  • What’s the number one thing Angel believes will lead leaders to success in the future? 

  • What is deep work and why do we love it so much?

  • Lots more.

The advice is practical, given the challenges facing higher education, we believe it’s timely… and we hope you find it useful.

If you haven’t met Angel Pérez, he is CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). In this role, he represents more than 25,000 admission and counseling professionals worldwide committed to postsecondary access and success. Named by a Forbes article in 2019 as the most influential voice in college admissions, he strives to build an educational ecosystem that better represents today’s society. Prior to joining NACAC in July of 2020, Dr. Pérez served in secondary and higher education leadership positions across America, most recently, as Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success at Trinity College in Connecticut. He is an advocate for counselors everywhere, an important ally in the work of increasing access to higher education, and I’m so glad to call him my friend.

Play-by-play

  • 2:03 – Welcome and check-in

  • 3:56 – Angel shares what his book is about, why he wrote it, and who it’s for

  • 5:50 – Why is it important to talk about leadership right now? 

  • 9:04 – Superpower #1: The Power of Solitude 

  • 15:23 – Superpower #2: The Art of Detachment

  • 24:00 – Superpower #3: Inspiration through Inclusivity

  • 36:45 – Superpower #4: Mastering Self-Management

  • 42:31 – Superpower #5: The Power of Showing Up

  • 50:24 – Superpower #6: The Power of Focus

  • 54:55 – Superpower #7: Shift Your Mindset

  • 1:04:26 – Getting comfortable saying “I don’t know” 

  • 1:12:57 – Which superpowers do Angel and Ethan want to work on over the next year? 

  • 1:20:07 – Closing thoughts and sharing goals 

Resources

 

602: Roles and Identities Part 2 (for Counselors and Educators): A Framework for Understanding How Your Roles Shape Your Work

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SHOW NOTES

To kick off Season 6, Ethan shares some practical resources based on a new framework he's been exploring.  If you’re a regular listener, you’ll already be familiar with something we call the Roles and Identities List, which is a huge menu of roles (things like “catalyst” and “change-maker” and “party-bringer”) — Ethan has used it as a get-to-know-you exercise with a number of previous guests. 

In case you missed it, check out Part 1 of this mini-series where Ethan walked through some practical exercises for students and parents based on the Roles and Identities framework. 

But what about counselors? We who spend our days (and often nights) answering emails, phone calls, texting and generally caretaking in 100 different ways…  Today’s episode is the second of two where Ethan will share some exercises that counselors can use to recognize patterns they may fall into at times and how they might practice more self-care and show up more fully for their students. Ethan explores: 

  • How can counselors make sure we fill our own cups (and not just our coffee cups)? 

  • How can we make sure we’re even more spacious and resourced… so that we’re able to give back from a full cup, and with a full heart?

  • And more. 

We hope you enjoy!

Play-by-play

  • 0:08 - What is the Roles & Identities Framework? 

  • 5:34 - Exercise #1 : The Roles & Identities List 

  • 11:39 - Exercise #2: The “shadow” version

  • 21:30 - Exercise #3: The “foil” to your role 

  • 23:20 - Closing thoughts 

Resources

 

409: A Crash Course in College Athletic Recruiting

On this episode, my guest is Katie Andersen, a former NCAA Division 1 Women’s Soccer player at Duke University, who now advises student-athletes through her organization, College Fit OC. She’s also the co-founder of The Student-Athlete Advisors, which focuses on educating and mentoring educational consultants who advise college-bound student-athletes. Our conversation turned into a veritable crash course in college athletic recruiting.

408: 10 Critical Things Trans Youth (and Their Counselors and Caregivers) Should Know in High School and When Applying to College w/ Shannon and Sam Bergeron

On this episode I had the honor of sitting down with Sam and Shannon Bergeron. We discuss a number of critical things trans youth, their counselors and caregivers should know as they navigate the college admission process.