I’m thrilled to be joining the On My Way Consulting team as a Student Success Coach and Careers and Majors Specialist. After navigating my own career, and years of working with elementary students through college graduates, I felt propelled to inject the college search and admissions process with more reflection and revelation. 

The college search can be an exciting and exhilarating time. It’s a formative step for the student, choosing where they will land during the years between their family home and independent life. Furthermore, the transition to college is a steep one that can leave students feeling anxious and overloaded. Self knowledge can better prepare them to live and interact with others in a college setting as well as succeed in an environment where they must self advocate.  

The education ecosystem can feel like a treadmill, running to keep up and then quickly preparing to start that next mile. I’d like to help students step off for a minute and turn inwards. Through thoughtful collaboration, I work to uncover their interests, values, strengths, personality, learning styles, living styles, dreams and other important components to their future growth. Then, they are better equipped to discover and explore their options. Once they have done this work, they are also more ripe to write about who they are and what they might want for their futures in their college essays. 

I encourage students to identify areas of importance for best fit when developing a college list or post secondary school plan–what do they want and why do they want it? Approaching these questions in a collaborative, curious, trustworthy, respectful way can help the student feel more confident and relaxed, and less overwhelmed with the process.

Earlier exposure to this kind of reflection can lead to a more confident and grounded exploration of future opportunities. Utilizing my custom methodology, I look forward to being the catalyst for your student to step off the treadmill and thoughtfully consider their options.

Laura Francis

Careers + Majors Specialist
Student Success Coach