College Unbound
Focus Collegiate provides comprehensive and boundless support to college students who learn differently. College UnBound is our podcast. By capitalizing on strengths, we help students build the self-reliance they need to find success and joy in school. Because college should be fun… Join us as we discuss our philosophy, tactics, strategies, and all things college for diverse learners.
Episodes
29 episodes
Creating Context for Independence: The College Application Process as Metaphor
In this episode, we examine the College Application Process as a Metaphor for the challenges student face in college and in life. The application is the gateway to a student’s future.The complex process of applying is the beginning of ac...
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Season 3
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Episode 5
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27:15
Creating Context for Independence: College Readiness Takes Practice
College readiness is a subject in the hearts and minds of students and their parents across the country. A Google search for College Readiness produces nearly 235 million results. This is the foundation of the work Focus Collegiate ...
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Season 3
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Episode 4
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32:35
Creating Context for Independence: The Summer Cohort
In this episode of College UnBound, Focus Collegiate Founder and Principal Grant Leibersberger and Enrollment and Outreach Director Ann-Marie Stripling discuss the Focus Collegiate Summer Cohort and the importance of college prep. T...
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Season 3
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Episode 3
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32:57
Creating Context for Independence: Motivational Interviewing with Elizabeth Murphy-Lewis
Today our subject is Motivational Interviewing. In short, Motivational Interviewing, or MI as we might call it in this conversation, is an evidence-based communication model that employs empathic, active listening to empower positive change.
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Season 3
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Episode 2
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31:21
Creating Context for Independence: Do Career Choices Really Matter in College?
Welcome to College UnBound Season Three, Creating Context for Independence. Today our subject is Career. Focus Collegiate uses the college experience as a metaphor for life, so while few first-year students are focused on life after school, it ...
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Season 3
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Episode 1
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30:00
You Don't Know What You Don't Know - with Occupational Therapist, Brooke Howard
Welcome to ‘You don't know what you don't know – An Occupational Therapist’s Perspective.’ Our guest is Registered Occupational Therapist, Brooke Howard. Brooke is the Clinical Director and founding partner at Skills for Life and is the Directo...
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Season 2
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Episode 11
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26:09
You Don't Know What You Don't Know - with Elizabeth C. Hamblet
Welcome to ‘You Don't Know What You Don't Know – A Learning Disabilities Specialist’s Perspective.’ Our guest is author and speaker Elizabeth C. Hamblet. Elizabeth has worked as a learning disabilities specialist in college disabili...
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Season 2
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Episode 12
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28:30
You Don't Know What You Don't Know - An Educational Consultant's Perspective with Liz Cooper
Our guest, Liz Cooper, is an Independent Educational Consultant who helps high school students with learning differences strengthen their self-advocacy skills, navigate the college admissions process, and transition to colleges that will suppor...
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Season 2
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Episode 10
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26:06
You Don't Know What You Don't Know - A Director's Perspective with Rich Davino
What role will your academic major play in your life? This important question is one our guest recommends you begin to think about answering in your very first semester of college. Rich Davino, the Managing Director of Focus Collegiate, has bee...
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Season 2
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Episode 9
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31:37
You Don't Know What You Don't Know – A Disability Services Perspective
Our subject is ‘You don't know what you don't know – A Disability Services Perspective.’ Our guest is Dee Singly. Dee is the Director of Disability Services at Ursinus College. She facilitates accommodations for students under the Americans wit...
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Season 2
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Episode 8
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30:18
You Don't Know What You Don't Know - A Counselor's Perspective with Kelley Challen
Today our subject is ‘You don't know what you don't know – A Counselor’s Perspective.’ Our guest is Kelley Challen. Kelley is NESCA’s Assistant Director and is the Director of Transition Services. NESCA stands for Neuropsychology & Educatio...
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Season 2
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Episode 7
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29:15
You Don't Know What You Don't Know - A Therapist's Perspective with Andrew Larke
Today our subject is ‘You don't know what you don't know – A Therapist’s Perspective.’ Our guest is Andrew Larke. Andrew is an LICSW who has worked with teens and young adults since 2005. He is an experiential therapist working with clients in ...
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Season 2
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Episode 6
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25:05
You Don't Know What You Don't Know - A Student's Perspective
Today our subject is ‘You Don't Know What You Don't Know – A Student’s Perspective.’ As of November 22, 2021, 14.8 million students are enrolled in college full-time. Among adults over 18, college students make up ...
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Season 2
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Episode 5
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27:40
You Don't Know What You Don't Know - A Parent's Perspective with Mary Hoffman
Our society doesn’t often think of it this way, but the college experience is not limited to the student. A student’s transition from high school to college impacts the whole family. Parents especially play a very active role in the transition....
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Season 2
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Episode 4
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24:03
You Don't Know What You Don't Know - with Eli Clarke
Every college and university is different. Given the curve ball thrown by the pandemic, colleges have had to recreate the wheel of college admissions every year. Which means that what we don’t know we don’t know about the admissions process is ...
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Season 2
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Episode 3
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25:29
You Don't Know What You Don't Know - with Dr. Andrea Malkin Brenner
Does anyone really feel ready for college? Todays’ guest, author Dr. Andrea Malkin Brenner gives us some answers. Dr. Brenner is a First-year transition educator and speaker. She was a professor and first-year college administrator at American ...
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Season 2
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Episode 2
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35:23
College UnBound: You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
Our theme for Season Two of College UnBound is, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” We consult teachers, counselors, authors, directors of DEI and accessibility offices, college readiness experts, parents, students, and our listeners ab...
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Season 2
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Episode 1
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34:45
College UnBound: Life Skills for College and Beyond
This week on College UnBound, our topic is the acquisition of life skills. Many parents, and many school counselors for that matter, focus almost exclusively on academic skills. While paramount in college, this focus is only one part of a much ...
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Season 1
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Episode 12
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18:04
College UnBound: The Learning Profile
In this week’s podcast, we discuss the student learning profile. In the previous episode of College UnBound, we talked about the importance of college prep and how the Focus Collegiate Summer Cohort meets the needs of incoming students. Part of...
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Season 1
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Episode 11
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23:01
College UnBound: The Summer Cohort
Preparation before college is one of the strongest predictors of future success; but many high school students look at college readiness in terms of simply applying to and getting into a university. Acceptance is just the beginning.
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Season 1
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Episode 10
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21:14
College UnBound: Parent Support
A great deal of news coverage has been focused on students and teachers. This week we focus on parents and how we support them.The early college years are an important time of individuation. It’s time for students to find and build...
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Season 1
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Episode 9
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25:32
College UnBound: Building Resilience
This week our topic is Resilience. The pandemic has been a global demonstration of our need for it. Resilience is the ability to adapt and thrive despite adversity. We’ve seen how resilience plays out in business. Adaptation has become the key ...
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Season 1
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Episode 8
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16:07
College UnBound: The Whys and Hows of Self-Advocacy
Welcome to Episode 7 of College UnBound. Our topic of discussion this week is Self-Advocacy. The experiential learning model we use with our college students is focused on the long-term predictors of college success. Primary among them is self-...
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Season 1
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Episode 7
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16:41
College UnBound: The Student Support Agreement
This week we dig into the Student Support Agreement which is an expression of each student’s Learning Agenda. While the Learning Agenda outlines what students work on, the Student Support Agreement pinpoints how. &...
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Season 1
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Episode 6
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16:00
College UnBound: The Learning Agenda
In Episode 5 of College UnBound, we discuss the Learning Agenda. An integral part of the Intentional Change Theory at the center of the unbounded support we provide college students who learn differently, the Learning Agenda is our road map.
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Season 1
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Episode 5
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17:34