Back when I was at Valencia High School, I had dreams of going to the University of Southern California. Everything I did in high school was to elevate myself and get into USC. Whether it was playing varsity basketball, taking AP and Honors classes, or being involved on campus, my goal was to be accepted to USC.
When the admissions letter finally arrived, I was nervous. I was nervous because everything I had worked for up to this point was riding on one decision. When I opened the letter and saw the word CONGRATULATIONS! I was ecstatic. I was living a dream.
For the next few months, I enjoyed my second semester and got ready for college. When I finally arrived on campus I did everything I could to stand out. I wanted to be the best I could possibly be.
However, even though my intentions were good, it took me a while, almost a year, before I really started to understand how to maximize my time and make the most of my college experience. Once I figured this out, I continued to learn, make relationships and have fun resulting in the best 4 years of my life.
Too often we focus our resources on getting into college. We spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on SAT/ ACT prep. We hire private counseling services to improve our college applications. We do everything we possibly can as students and parents to give ourselves an advantage in the college admissions process.
While this is great, we fail to address the big question. What’s Next? Once you know you want to go to college, whether you are a sophomore, junior or senior, or even once you are accepted, life gets REAL. You need to start planning for college success and life success.
College tuition averages $25,000 per year for public school (collegedata.com) and we are doing almost nothing to prepare our children and students for how to maximize this opportunity. We’re hoping our high school success translates into college success and the rest we will learn as we go. It’s a great start but it’s not enough.
Would you make a $25,000 a year business investment without preparing yourself and doing the research to guarantee a higher return? No! You would do the due diligence to ensure a positive return on your investment. The same goes for investing in our child’s education.
What if I told you there was a way to ELEVATE your children and have them walk into college with the knowledge and confidence to maximize their experience, set themselves up for a great future and have fun at the same time?
Well, after studying the issues we face as a society and the concerns I hear from the students I speak to and coach, I have created a solution. That solution is called Elevate Beyond SCV.
Elevate Beyond SCV is a 6-week after school program created for the high school students of the Santa Clarita Valley. It will be starting in February 2017 and run through the end of March with meetings once a week.
Elevate Beyond SCV is based on my bestselling book Elevate Beyond, a real world guide to standing out in any job market, discovering your passion and becoming your own person.
It is designed to help participants learn the secrets to maximizing their college experience, learn the strategies to stand out in the job market and help participants be motivated to take action on their journey to achieving their own definition of success.
To learn more, please visit: bit.ly/elevatebeyondscv. A percentage of all proceeds will be donated to the WiSH Education Foundation for students who sign up from the Wm S. Hart School District or to the students’ respective school should they sign up from a school not in the Wm S. Hart School District.
