A Day In The Life Of A Senior Program Co-Director At Minds Matter SoCal
A Co-Director at Minds Matter SoCal's LA Senior Program spends Saturdays guiding students through college applications, working with five students as a writing coach and collaborating with mentors who "build incredible bonds" with the students. The role also involves managing the stressful college decision process, including financial aid, and supporting students as they navigate "should I actually leave California?" and other big questions.
College Admissions Counseling, Mentorship, Financial Aid, Student Support, Higher Education
Advizer Information
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Company
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Beth Garfield
Co-Director, LA Senior Program
Minds Matter SoCal
Stanford University, 1974
University of Michigan Law School
Psychology
Law, Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Legal
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Mentorship is a core aspect of the program, with each student receiving one or two mentors who build strong relationships and provide guidance throughout their college application journey.
2. The program provides extensive support for students during the college application process, including assistance with essays, financial aid, and making final college decisions.
3. The program includes collaborations with college admissions officers and alumni to offer valuable insights and support to students as they navigate the college application process and beyond.
Transcript
What does a day in the life of a co-director of the LA Senior Program look like?
We have programs on Saturdays that actually start in sophomore, junior, and senior year. The students all come on Saturdays from about nine to 2:30 in the fall. I have five students that I'm working with as their writing coach.
We also do some programming for them in the mornings. We bring in some college admissions officers as well, and then in the afternoon, their mentors arrive. One of the phenomenal things about the Minds Matter program is that we have one or two mentors for each of our students.
Ideally, these are individuals who have started working with the students when they were sophomores. Many of them spend three years with the students and build incredible bonds. When mentors move away or change jobs, we sometimes have to replace them, and we find fabulous people.
The relationships are very special. As a senior lead, I work with the same students, but now I also work with their mentors. Their mentors are an enormous help in prepping students for college and helping them decide where to apply.
We call this the "senior list." In the second semester, many of those mentors do presentations for the whole group on their college experiences. We also bring back alumni for Minds Matter to do panels.
It's a time where students are preparing for college applications in the fall and for college itself in the spring. It's a little less stressful in some ways for students who got into a school early, either through a scholarship or by applying early decision or early action. They're kind of all set.
For students who did that and still want to apply to more schools, or students who decide not to apply early, it can be a very stressful time. They're waiting to hear from colleges and for financial aid packages.
Financial aid is a very big deal at Minds Matter because our students need superb financial aid packages to be able to attend college. We work with students on understanding these packages, often with their families. Then decisions are made, and by May 1st, each student has to notify the school of their choice.
This is always difficult because students are nervous. They wonder if they should leave California, go to the East Coast, deal with the cold, or embrace a new location. They also worry if the college will provide enough financial aid for their family to afford for them to go.