Blog

  • One Year Later: A Tale of Two SLC’s

      It was March 12, 2020. The San Diego WACAC Share, Learn, and Connect conference was underway. I remember it vividly. It was a rainy Thursday morning, but I was enjoying the beautiful campus of Point Loma Nazarene University and time with colleagues from other high schools.  Little did I know that the next day,…

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  • Summer Melt & Goodbye Daft Punk

    When I ask you to think of summer, a normal summer, the range of thoughts from those reading this will vary widely.  Several of you have year round jobs, whether as independent counselors or on the college side, and if your office doesn’t have good air conditioning, then summer may bring up unpleasant memories of…

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  • Student and Parent Perspectives on Applying During Covid

    When I was a kid, I loved playing with the other kids in the neighborhood. Sometimes, someone would come up with a new game for all of us to play. Invariably, in the midst of our game, someone would decide to change the rules to make the game more fun and exciting. Sometimes it worked.…

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  • I’m Ready for a Town Hall

    As a Philadelphia Eagles fan, Dec. 19, 2010 is one of the fondest dates in team history to look back upon. Playing a late season game against the New York Giants with first place on the line, the Eagles trailed 31-10 with just under eight minutes to go. What followed was an epic comeback by…

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  • Happy New Year (Kind of? Maybe?)

    I thought 2020 was behind us, but it continues to extend its tentacles into 2021. California has earned the dubious distinction of leading the country in the number of Covid-19 cases in the past seven days, according to the CDC. We also witnessed a sad day in the history of our country as protestors stormed…

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  • Halfway Through the Year

      For many, December marks the end of the calendar year. For those of us in academia, our lives revolve around the academic calendar. There is a natural ebb and flow to the school year. It is a predictability I have grown accustomed to. August contains all the excitement and hope of a new school…

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  • DEFCON 2

    Though I have no legal authorization to declare this, I’m moving the college admissions world, especially financial aid, to DEFCON 2.  This should really come as no surprise.  We expected a significant impact from COVID, and there is an abundance of news stories of late discussing the lower rate of FAFSA filers among would be…

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  • Steve’s Keepers

    I generally like to approach life from a glass half full approach while also acknowledging that bad things can happen.  It’s a cliché, but the line “hope for the best but prepare for the worst” is how I live personally and professionally.  That’s why it astounds me as I approach my seventh full year living…

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