THEY’RE RETURNING. As if on cue, right around Memorial Day, they take leave of where they were staying. They march home, whole brigades of them. There are more women among them than ever, more offspring from diverse cultures and backgrounds. Their look and haircuts and fashion and iPod favorites may be dramatically different from even […]
Counseling Matters: The ‘yes-no-maybe, baby’ roulette wheel
THOSE STUDENTS WHO ARE BOUND FOR COLLEGE NEXT YEAR, and their long-suffering parents, are eagerly — well, mostly eagerly — awaiting word back from various colleges and universities to which they’ve applied for admission. It’s that time of the year. At one college where I worked, we called it the “Season of the Witch.” We […]
Counseling Matters: Career, and future, planning
IN THE LATEST EDITION OF THE PRINCETON REVIEW, they tweak all kinds of algorithms to come out with the un-tweakable: which particular colleges give you the best ROI (return on investment). You might argue that the “success” of a college experience and degree has many different shadings for many different people. But here, we’re talking […]
Counseling Matters: Millenials’ major matters
OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, I’ve grown far less sanguine about an earlier take on the topic of choosing a major in college. The old perspective was something like: “College is a time to explore. Take anything and everything. See what works. Think a bit about where it might lead you. Try another direction […]
Counseling Matters: The Magnificent Seven
AS I WIND DOWN FROM MY CAREER at Diablo Valley College this final term as instructor/counselor, I wanted to share some very favorite websites that everyone interested in college would enjoy using. So here are some top picks: 1) assist.org — The one site that we in community college counseling all genuflect and ruminate over. […]
Counseling Matters: It’s college application time!
THERE ARE FEW BETTER MULTIDIMENSIONAL INVESTMENTS IN LIFE than a solid college education. I have to remind myself of that fact even as I write dual monthly checks for my twins, each currently beginning the freshman ascent toward a bachelor degree. The investment is not merely financial — though the life-long median salary of college […]
Counseling Matters: Smoke through a keyhole
SOME OF YOU HAVE, OR SOON WILL HAVE, sent your child(ren) off to live, work, study and play at college — not merely commuting to, say, a nearby absolutely fabulous community college from home. No, no. Some of us are saying “bye-bye” to our kid(s), and —oh, I don’t know — also saying “hi-hi” to […]
Counseling Matters: To heli or hover?
There comes a time in every columnist’s career when they test out a premise and rethink their conclusion and their advice. And on occasion one must, as the delicate phrase goes, “eat crow.” Perhaps from a large soup tureen or fondue pot: dark, sticky crow. So come, belly up to the dark tureen, comrades: This […]
Counseling Matters: BHS hearts DVC
I’M WITHIN HOURS OF COMPLETING MY 25th year at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, and it may be the final year. Or two. Graduation is Wednesday. What are some highlights of the workplace I’ve called home for that long? Well, I find the people who work there are really, really neat. If there were […]
Counseling Matters: So many paths, so many solutions
SO A PROFESSIONAL PHYSICAL THERAPIST who is helping me heal the anguish of tendonitis discovers what I do for a living. Abruptly, I hear: “What are you counselors telling those young people, anyway?! Can’t you tell them what jobs have openings and pay well? Can’t you tell them what to train for and get their […]