Episodes

In this episode, I am welcoming back Joanna Lilley to the podcast. If you are a loyal listener, you might remember Joanna from episodes 33 and 69. If you missed those episodes, be sure to check them out because Joanna ALWAYS provides valuable advice for parents of teens and young adults. During our conversation, Joanna and I discuss something called “early alert”. It might have a different name based on the college or university, but basically, it’s the point during the first semester of college...

In this episode, I am delighted to welcome Dr. Mandy Pacheco to the podcast. Crossing paths with Mandy was a huge stroke of luck, thanks to our mutual friend Michelle. Once we connected, I knew I had to have her on the podcast. Mandy’s years of experience in higher education as well as her role as a flex-schooling parent provides her with the perfect blend of insight and expertise from both perspectives. During our conversation, we discuss the importance of experiential learning and why consent ...

Today’s topic is one that will resonate with every parent, no matter the age of their kids. I’m thrilled to welcome Karen Moon, a psychotherapist specializing in grief and loss to the podcast. Karen has a private practice in Wayne, Pennsylvania and she has worked with teenagers for over fourteen years. During our conversation, Karen shares her expert wisdom and insight to help parents as they guide their teens through grief and loss. Some of the topics we cover include helping our teens gain res...

In today’s episode, I am delighted to welcome Dr. Tonya Crombie to the podcast. Tonya is an author, a certified life coach, and a parent of two teenagers. Her experience both professionally and personally has equipped her with valuable insight into helping young people manage anxiety and successfully transition to adulthood. During our conversation, we talk about the emotional rollercoaster that we’ve all been on during the past 18 months, why being transparent about our own anxiety can be a hug...

In this week’s episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Louis Profeta, M.D. Dr. Profeta has decades of experience as an emergency physician at St. Vincent Hospital of Indianapolis, a level one trauma center. He is also an award-winning writer. You may be familiar with some of his work, including his essay titled “A Sunday Talk on Sex, Drugs, Drinking and Dying”, on the topic of drugs, sexual assault, and alcohol abuse on college campuses. Dr. Profeta travels the country talking to college stu...

Today’s episode is a must-listen for parents of college-bound teens. My guest today is Susan Paterno, author of “Game On: Why College Admission is Rigged and How to Beat the System.” As Susan explains during our conversation, college admissions is a game but unfortunately, the rules aren’t clear to all participants (especially parents) and colleges have the advantage. But don’t despair, thanks to Susan and her valuable advice, we can level the playing field by equipping ourselves with knowledge,...

A few weeks ago I was chatting with a friend whose first-born will be starting freshman year of high school next week. She had some questions about what to expect and how to help her teen navigate high school. It reminded me of when my oldest started high school and how overwhelmed I felt. So, I decided to reach out to friends and the High School Hamster Wheel community to crowd-source some advice from parents of teens. I am certainly not the expert but I am surrounded by high school moms and da...

In this episode, I welcome Josh Burnette to the show. Josh is a business owner and the co-author of two Adulting 101 books. We hear that term being thrown around a lot lately. Adulting. It’s defined as “the practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks.” As Josh describes it, adulting does include the tactical aspects and the hard skills, but it’s also very much about cultivating healthy adulthood and living your...

I’m joined today by my partner-in-career-coaching Jay DuSold. This episode will sound a bit different from others I’ve published. I’m sharing the audio from a recent live event that Jay and I held in our Life After 12th Facebook group, so the format is different. Unfortunately, the audio quality isn’t as good as I hoped but please don’t let that deter you from listening all the way to the end. This topic is one of the most important I’ve covered on this podcast. It’s all about helping young peop...

This episode is a long one but please stay with me until the end. Trust me when I say it’s worth every minute of your time. I’m joined today by Dr. Paul J. LeBlanc. Dr. LeBlanc has spent more than 17 years as President of Southern New Hampshire University. If you haven’t heard of SNHU until now, you’re not alone. I hadn’t heard of it either until a mutual connection introduced me to Dr. LeBlanc. It’s definitely worth mentioning that SNHU was #12 on Fast Company magazine’s “World’s Fifty Most Inn...

Today’s episode is one that I believe will benefit parents of teens going off to college or on to any next step after high school. It’s all about taking proactive steps to help ensure your teen or young adult is equipped and empowered to succeed in their next chapter. I connected with my guest, Carol Ben-Davies, through her post in a parenting Facebook group where we are both members and knew I had to have her on the show. As a society, we are so focused on making sure our kids get into college ...

In this episode, I’m welcoming back a familiar face (and voice), my friend and partner in crime, Jay DuSold. For those who may not know much about Jay, he is the founder of MapInMe Career Coaching for Teens, and as of a few months ago, I began working with him in his coaching business. Last week, Jay and I delivered our first-ever Find Your Fits Career Exploration Workshop for teens and young adults. We offered it in person, in my hometown in central Florida. The workshop was based upon Jay’s pr...

In this episode, I am delighted to welcome Dr. Michele Borba to the podcast. Dr. Borba is an internationally recognized educator who has spoken to over one million parents and educators. She is recognized for her solution-based strategies on raising resilient kids, and has appeared over 150 times on the TODAY show, and has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Time, and Dateline. I am a firm believer that her most recent book, “Thrivers, The Surprising Reasons Why Some Kids Strug...

In this episode, I am joined by Dale Troy founder and owner of Crush College Stress, and mom to three young women. Dale’s mission is to help students gain confidence in their ability to handle college by teaching them strategies to reduce their daily stress and enable them to thrive. During our conversation, we talk about how to help teens transition to adulthood successfully and why it’s important for parents to identify potential challenges before their kids leave for college. Dale shares the ...

Today’s guest is becoming a regular around here and I’m grateful for that! You might remember Jay DuSold from previous episodes of the podcast. From the time that we crossed paths, Jay and I knew that we were on the same page when it came to helping teens and young adults find their way to careers that they will love and stick with. In this episode, we talk about the importance of having our teens do career research BEFORE choosing a path after high school. I’m witnessing so many young people fe...

If you are a loyal listener, you probably know that most of my guests here on the High School Hamster Wheel podcast are grown-ups. But everyone once in a while, if I’m lucky enough, I get to interview a teen or young adult who is doing amazing things. Today’s guest is just that. In this episode, I welcome Luke Harris to the show. At the young age of just 15 years old, as a sophomore in high school, Luke discovered a gap in the way his high school was teaching engineering. So rather than complain...

This episode is a fun one! I’m delighted to welcome Stephanie Silverman to the podcast. Stephanie is the co-founder of Your Teen Media, along with Susan Borison who I interviewed in episode 77. Stephanie brings multiple perspectives to our conversation. Through her role at Your Teen, she is immersed in all things raising teens, and bonus, she also happens to be a mom to three young adults. So she has a lot of experience and insight, both personal and professional, to share. During our conversati...

You may have noticed that I’ve published several episodes lately having to do with college admissions. That's not the norm for me but I thought this one was definitely worth sharing. If you are a loyal listener, I hope you know by now that I have nothing against college but my primary goal with this podcast is to help parents guide their teens as they explore all paths through and beyond high school, whether that includes college or not. My guest today is Kristina Dooley. Kristina is a Certified...

In this episode, I am delighted to welcome Dr. Roseann Capanna-Hodge to the show. Dr. Roseann is a mental health trailblazer, founder of The Global Institute of Children’s Mental Health and Dr. Roseann & Associates. Her mission is to "change the way we view and treat children’s mental health”. FORBES magazine called her, “A thought leader in children’s mental health”. Her work has helped thousands reverse the most challenging conditions, such as ADHD, anxiety, mood disorders, autism, learning di...

My guest today is Dr. Samantha Haviland, Executive Director of Career Development and Student Success for Denver Public Schools. Sam and I were introduced by our mutual friend, Joanna Lilley, who’s been a guest on this podcast multiple times. I am SO grateful that Joanna connected us. You’ll hear me say this during our conversation, and I’m only half joking, if I could convince my family to go with me, I’d sell my house and move to Denver so my boys could attend Denver Public Schools. Don’t get ...

I’m really hopeful that today’s conversation will bring hope and direction to parents who may be feeling confused, scared or concerned about their teen’s future. Transitioning to life after high school, whether you are headed to college or someplace else, is difficult for most, and for some, it’s just plain overwhelming. Even for those students who seem to have what it takes to succeed academically, they may still need improvement in social skills and executive functioning skills like time manag...

This week's episode is probably one of the most fun interviews I've done to date. Full disclosure, I have admired my guest and "fan-girled" over her from afar for a while now. I'm beyond thrilled today to be interviewing Susan Borison. For those who may not be familiar with Susan, trust me when I say that after this interview you will want to get to know her. Susan is the parent of five grown children and has decades of parenting experience and wisdom to share. And as if that isn't a huge accomp...

Today's episode covers a topic that I don't often talk about on the podcast: college admissions. If you are a regular listener, you know that many of my conversations focus on post-high school paths that don't require college. I thought it was important to delve deeper into the college planning process, primarily because I've heard from a lot of parents about the overwhelm they are facing as their teens begin the college application process. And to be completely transparent, this is personal for...

I'm going to start out this week's intro with some hard to admit truth. I have spent a good part of my kids' lives over-parenting. And if I'm being totally transparent, I still struggle with it. You too? Well, join the club. Based on the number of interviews I've done (today marks #75!) and the numerous casual conversations I've had with parents, we are a society of over-parenters. Call us helicopters, bulldozers or whatever other name you might have for it. At the end of the day we are microman...