36 Heads are Better than 1

​I just spent the last four days at our annual Collegewise retreat, this year in Cancun. We did all the normal things you would expect of a corporate retreat: cocktails and catching up, PowerPoint presentations in conference rooms, and an awards dinner on the last night. But in true Collegewise fashion, we also did things in our own irreverent style. Like the slideshow prepared by our CFO explaining next year’s financial plan by way of the Ohio State-Michigan football rivalry. Or the talent show we performed on the deck of a pirate ship in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Or lunch by the pool every day, where we pushed six tables together because we couldn’t bear to separate into smaller groups. But my favorite part of the retreat was the same thing I love the most about working for Collegewise: getting to learn from my brilliant and diversely-experienced colleagues.
 
At every session, I took notes I will refer to over and over again in the next year. We touched on an enormous range of topics, which only speaks to how knowledgeable and unique each of us are at Collegewise. Like best practices from two of our most veteran counselors, Katie and Allison, for supporting our seniors in the thick of application season, and Arun and Mamie discussing how to guide students to articulate and impactful supplement essays, Jenny and Marisela advising on transfer students, Tim explaining how to navigate the process with international applicants, and our CEO, Paul, discussing the significance of this year’s FAFSA changes. And it’s not just the presentations, but also the questions and the discussions that arise from every single counselor being completely engaged.
 
To be a great college counselor, you have to constantly evolve your skills and your knowledge base. This is a field that changes every year, every month, every day even. And that’s what I love about it. I love getting to research video gaming as a varsity sport, and the financial aid opportunities at WUE schools, and which colleges will let you combine geology and foreign studies majors. But most of all, I love being connected to 36 people who love all those things too.