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Episode Notes | Transcript | AskTheGuest

 Hi Fives (5 Highlights)   Click for 3-Minute Listen

Colleen Koppes is the College and Career Coordinator at Dowling Catholic High School in Des Moines, Iowa.

Colleen went into counseling to provide the guidance and support she wished she would have had as a high schooler. Colleen believes:

• Every Student should own their experience
• Students need to take a hard look at what they want and need from their college experience
• Helps Students through Asking questions, advocating for them and
• Provide Guidance based on her decade-long experiences.

Hi-Fives from the Podcast are:

1. Why Counseling?
2. Philosophy of Counseling
3. Dealing with Dream Colleges
4. Applying Undeclared
5. Advice for High Schoolers

Episode Notes

Episode Title: Colleen Koppes of Dowling Catholic on College Counseling: Questioning, Advocating, Sharing Knowledge.

Colleen went to a high school with about 1000 students in rural Iowa. She rarely interacted with her counselor, given the student volume. Her family, teachers and friends provided her the support and guidance as she mapped out her future

Colleen Koppes is the College and Career Coordinator at Dowling Catholic High School in Des Moines, Iowa. On our podcast, Colleen shares her background, her counseling approach, dealing with Dream Colleges, the COVID impact, and advice to high school students.

In particular, we discuss the following with her:

• Colleen Koppes’ Background
• Approach to College Counseling
• Navigating Dream Colleges
• Advice for Rising Seniors

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Introducing Colleen Koppes [0:41]
• Hi Fives - Podcast Highlights [1:38]
• Professional Background [4:27]
• Why Counseling? [5:46]
• Switching to High School [7:11]
• About Dowling Catholic High School [8:41]
• Role at the School [10:01]
• Approach to College Counseling [12:23]
• The Challenges [14:39]
• Dealing with Dream Colleges [18:03]
• Changes over the last decade [21:06]
• Going Undeclared [27:18]
• Early Application Strategy [29:54]
• COVID Impact [32:15]
• Advice for High Schoolers [34:25]
• Staying Excited [37:46]

Our Guest: Colleen Koppes is the College and Career Coordinator at Dowling Catholic High School in Des Moines, Iowa.

Memorable Quote: “...if I can have even the slightest impact on a young person's life throughout the support and advice I provide them, I think that makes all the difference to me and my fulfillment as a college counselor.” Colleen Koppes.

Episode Transcript: Please visit Episode’s Transcript.

Recommended Episodes: College Experiences

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Episode Transcript

Transcript of the episode’s audio.

<Start Snippet> Colleen  0:14  

Previously, I might have just met a student in a counseling center for 30 minutes, they applied to the institution I was recruiting for, and may never have a conversation again. Whereas I can see students, you know, have changes from freshmen all the way through senior year now, and I think that's very fulfilling.

Venkat  0:41  [Introducing Colleen Koppes, Dowling Catholic High School]

That is Colleen Koppes, College and Career Coordinator at Dowling Catholic High School in Des Moines, Iowa.

Hello, I am your host, Venkat Raman.

Colleen went to a high school with about 1000 students in rural Iowa.

She rarely interacted with her counselor, given the student volume.

Her family, teachers and friends provided her the support and guidance as she mapped out her future.

Venkat Raman  1:16

On our podcast, Colleen shares her background, her counseling approach, dealing with Dream Colleges, the COVID impact, and advice to high school students.

Before we jump into the podcast, here are the Hi-Fives,  Five Highlights from the podcast:

Colleen  1:38  [Highlights - Hi Fives]

[Why Counseling]

I grew up in rural Iowa, I was at a high school of about 1000 students. And to be honest, I rarely interacted with my school counselor. I think in large part due to the large caseload, my school counselor had, I really relied heavily on my family, teachers and friends to make informed decisions on my class planning, future goals.

[Philosophy of Counseling]

Need to take a hard look at what they need and what they want and their next stage of education. And I really approach this through questioning, advocating on their behalf and sharing my knowledge I've obtained along the way.

[Dealing with Dream Colleges]

I always ask, do you see yourself if you're admitted on that campus? And do you feel like you would be able to thrive on that college campus? Or is that more just you know, that name or that ranking or recognition that's kind of pushed for the dream college?

[Applying Undeclared]

For students that are undecided, or have kind of a couple of different things that they're exploring, I always, you know, reiterate to students to make sure what support systems do they have in place at the institutions that they might be considering to make sure that they feel supported and navigating their interests and ultimately to a major.

[Advice for High Schoolers]

You know, I recommend for students that are going to go through the process starting shortly this summer into fall again, to be aware that there's many steps involved in the application process. I think, if I look back and talk with our seniors, they would mention they didn't realize how much time it took to go through all of the steps with their college applications. So.

Venkat Raman  3:46

These were the Hi5s, brought to you by “College Matters. Alma Matters.”

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Venkat Raman  3:57

Now. I'm sure you want to hear the entire podcast with Colleen. So without further ado, here's the podcast with Colleen Koppes!

-----------------

Venkat Raman  4:08  

If you're ready, we can jump right into it.

Colleen  4:11  

Yes, absolutely.

Venkat Raman  4:13  

Cool. So maybe we should start with your background. Tell us a little bit about how you got into this what you were doing before, and then we can get into the counseling piece.

Colleen  4:27  [Professional Background]

Sure. So I'm finishing up my first year as the College and Career coordinator at Dowling Catholic High School, and West Des Moines, Iowa. Previously, I worked in college admissions for nine years. I was fortunate to work at a variety of institutions from a midsize public university called Minnesota State University Mankato, and then just recently in my alma mater as an assistant director for regional recruitment in the Twin Cities area.

So throughout my career, I have served in a variety of capacities through the Minnesota Association And of college admissions counselors, and the Iowa Association of College admissions counselors, which are affiliates of the National Association of College admissions counselors. And that really has helped me through my professional development. And through those professional organizations, it actually got me interested and to where I am today, as a college counselor at a high school, I don't think it would have been possible without my mentorships with other high school college counselors in Minnesota, that kind of guided me to the position I am currently in.

Venkat Raman  5:41  

Why, why did you get into counseling when what was your motivation?

Colleen  5:46  [Why Counseling?]

Yeah, great question of, it's always fascinating to me to see people's backgrounds and where they're coming from and why they choose the career that they do. So my experience, I grew up in rural Iowa, I was at a high school of about 1000 students. And to be honest, I rarely interacted with my school counselor. I think in large part due to the large caseload, my school counselor had, I really relied heavily on my family, teachers and friends to make informed decisions on my class planning, future goals. And then as I moved on to college at Iowa State University, I was really not able to form a strong connection with my academic advisor and my major, which was psychology.

So really, at the heart of it, I was motivated to go into counseling to provide the guidance and support I wish I would have received during my adolescence. To this day, I am motivated to assist each student I meet with to ensure they feel supported in their future goals, that who they are and what they do matters and reassure them. I'm there as a guide each step of the way. So that's it was motivated into getting into counseling.

Venkat Raman  7:03  

You spent a bunch of years in colleges in college admissions, why did you switch over to the schools' side?

Colleen  7:11  [Switching to High School]

That is a great question. I think other colleagues have asked me that. Although I love my experience in college admissions, and being in the higher education setting, something just drove me to a sense of helping students find the right fit across the country and across sub institutions. And after talking with my mentors, that were college counselors in the Twin Cities, I felt like it would be very gratifying to really be that support network for students in a high school setting of all the opportunities that would await them.

And as much as I enjoyed, like working, you know, for my alma mater, and being passionate about my experience, sharing that with students, I didn't feel like I really wanted to open the doors to a variety of institutions and a variety of opportunities for post secondary for students.

And what I found this year since my first on the high school site, as we call it in college admissions, is just that, that I've gotten to know institutions that I wasn't familiar with before, or maybe they were familiar to me in the Midwest. And it's just very excited that our students, you know, do go really across the country even as well as staying in state. So that's kind of how I positioned the change to the high school side.

Venkat Raman  8:38  

Tell us a little bit about your school, Dowling Catholic.

Colleen  8:41  [About Dowling Catholic High School]

Yes. So Dowling Catholic High School, is in the greater Des Moines area. It's based in West Des Moines, Iowa. And we are a community that embraces learners of all faiths, they really focus our environment on being faithful, caring and dedicated.

We are a community of roughly 1400 kids and students actually represent 34 Different communities of politan area. So a wide variety of backgrounds, upbringing that come to Dowling each year. And then, within our student population, we have 100% graduation rate, nearly 90% of our students attend some form of post secondary education.

So breaking that down further, around 80% attend a four year public or private institution, another 10% Attend a two year community or technical and then the remainder go into the force. Another kind of interesting fact is roughly 60% of our students stay in state and Iowa and then roughly 40% go out of state each year and that has remained fairly consistent.

Venkat Raman  9:56  

What do you get to do there? What's, What's your role and responsibility?

Colleen  10:01  [Role at the School]

Yeah, so I feel like alongside being in college admissions and the higher education part and then going to K-12. We wear many hats, as we like to say in admissions. So I assist all students and their post secondary plans after Dowling. So this really encompasses from applying to attending the college and universities across the country, assisting students of applying and doing interviews for apprenticeship programs, connecting them with the military or ministry, or applying for full time employment. So I'll do mock interviews, look at their resumes. I do workshops for like college essays.

I'm also responsible for administering the ACT, and essay t tests throughout the school year, as well as the PSAT and AP exams coming up in May. In addition, I work closely with our registrar to make sure we get updated transcripts and the final transcripts out to the college universities.

And then I work with our athletic director, connecting with college coaches that are recruiting our students. So have that a part of my responsibilities. I also am fortunate that I work alongside for school counselors to ensure students schedules align with their future goals, meeting the college entrance requirements. A heavy dose of my responsibilities in the fall is I meet with all seniors throughout their final year, I do classroom presentations regarding the college admissions process with our junior class.

Throughout the year, I also hold family information sessions on a variety of topics. So we go everything from financial aid to scholarships to applications and important deadlines to keep in track of. And then on, in addition, connecting students to the appropriate resources on the college campuses, they're interested in attending. So quite a variety of things that keep me busy.

Venkat Raman  12:12  

How do you approach counseling? I mean, do you have what you think of as a philosophy and approach? How do you, How do you come at this whole thing?

Colleen  12:23  [Approach to College Counseling]

Yeah, I think this really stems from my initial experiences, as being an admissions counselor and then transitioning to this role, really, at the heart of it is, everything begins and ends with the student and mind. And as I finish up my first year in this role, I understand that each student who comes into my office has their own unique story to tell. And that's been very apparent, we have about 360 seniors and every one is very unique. So I believe in each student's unique abilities and work to help to support them through their post secondary plans.

So what I've seen is some students will meet with me, literally, the first week of school come in regularly, sometimes weekly basis for check ins, others met with me once or twice in the fall, when it was the heavy application season, and then maybe checked in, you know, once a spring just to confirm their college choice. Some kind of proceeded quite independently. And that's completely fine. They knew maybe all along where the heart was, and had things set. And then a few found, you know, I found that they were a little bit slower to the planning process, they weren't quite ready for the meetings in the fall.

So I've met with them more so the spring and really just supporting students where they are in the process. And to college counseling, I always encourage students that they need to take ownership of their experience, this is their choice. Ultimately, they'll be the ones that are going to college, or an apprenticeship program, for example.

Yeah, and they really need to take a hard look at what they need and what they want and their next stage of education. And I really approach this through questioning, advocating on their behalf and sharing my knowledge I've attained along the way. So that's been really approach with college counseling at Dowling Catholic.

Venkat Raman  14:33  

What kind of challenges have you seen here faced so far? And what's hard? What's difficult?

Colleen  14:39  [The Challenges]

Yeah, so one, in particular, challenge that has came about this year is I'm actually a team of one. I'm very unique in my role in the state and the only designated college counselor. So my support network really stems from the mentorships that I had in the Twin Cities. My Metropolitan area at the private institutions that I've worked with as an admissions counselor.

So one challenge is, you know, wishing that there would be others in a similar role that were closer proximity, proximity geographically to me. But understanding. I'm fortunate to have a team of school counselors, the registrar, or administration that supports me through any questions or troubleshooting that I have this year.

One thing that I wish I could do more of for our families at my high school, is more programming on completing the FAFSA, more information on common app? And how do you go about making sure that you complete that appropriately, or the scholarship search we all know, students could literally be a full time scholarship searcher throughout my senior year.

And then the other thing that I've like thought of that is also a challenge. In particular, this role this year, and maybe moving forward, is keeping students attention with communication. So what I found on the college side of things was our primary form of communication was email. But I feel like so much of the students that I talk with will say, Mrs. Koppes, I'm inundated with emails, and I just can't decipher what is important, what can I ignore? And they get overwhelmed. So they just kind of start dismissing the emails. Yeah, yeah.

So moving forward to kind of combat this challenge is, I plan on utilizing an application called Remind, to communicate out when colleges are visiting our high school approaching deadline, approaching, like scholarship deadlines. Even reminders of you have a meeting with me tomorrow. Yeah, because that'll, you know, ding them on their smartphones. I also found out utilizing Calendly, which is just basically appointment scheduling system really is useful to them, it shows my availability, so we're not communicating back and forth via email up well, what, you know, period works to meet with you or after school. So that's streamline the process and one college counselor here. Those are just a few of the challenges that I've experienced so far this year.

Venkat Raman  17:37  

So one question I wanted to ask you, in this arena is about dream colleges, right? I mean, there's so much talk about dream colleges, and everybody has their own version of what is their dream college? How do you deal with that? I mean, are you finding a lot of that with your students? And how do you handle that? I guess.

Colleen  18:03  [Dealing with Dream Colleges]

Yes, that's a great question. So from my experience, with every student I meet with, they'll have one or two dream colleges or, you know, colleges they've always thought of, and if they were admitted, this would be wonderful. And we very excited to attend.

And so I always look at when we're talking and with advice of their list of colleges that they're applying to, I always ask, do you see yourself if you're admitted on that campus? And do you feel like you would be able to thrive on that college campus? Or is that more just, you know, that name or that ranking or recognition that's kind of pushed for the dream college.

So I would say, once of their list of target schools based on their academic profile, more safety where they know, there's either high acceptance rates, or they match what the admissions criteria is. And then if the dream college is more on that, like reach, where it would be fantastic if they were admitted, but it wouldn't be the end of the world if they weren't because they had those target schools, or safety schools as kind of a backup. I also encourage students to consider you know, looking past names and rankings and finding the college that will be right for them.

Another thing that I found this year, for some of our students that, you know, were fortunate to actually be admitted to their dream college was being aware of the cost. So if a student is admitted into their dream college, realistically, is the family financially able to make that a possibility? And also just reiterating to students that colleges you know, don't reach out Next students because there aren't smart, they're not capable, they're not well rounded.

It's simply that they unfortunately just don't have enough room for all of those talented students who apply. And just to not take that as like a personal judgment them on their behalf. And I always reiterate to to students, you know, with Dream colleges or with their decision in general, what you do on that college campus, during those four years, or maybe more, depending on their goals is maybe more important than where they do that at and just reiterating the fit is the most important aspect of the college process.

Venkat Raman  20:43  

You, You've been doing this, I guess you said about over a decade now in colleges, and now the school? How do you think things have changed, Or How different is it from when you started counseling? And perhaps, the students as well?

Colleen  21:06  [Changes over the last decade]

Yes, that's a great question to bring up. I feel like college admissions, the landscape is forever changing. If you ask someone, what were things like 20 years ago to 15 to five, it is ever changing. So when I initially started in college admissions, there was a heavier emphasis on the ACT SATs standardized tests, obviously required for college admissions. And that was really standard across the board to talk to students about their scores. What were kind of realistic possibilities for their future plans.

And then now, you know, due to the COVID 19 pandemic, we've seen a huge shift of over 1800 colleges, test optional for their policies and admission, some are piloting like a three year program for test optional, others have permanently gone test optional. And that has been a huge shift in conversations with students where that was always at like the forefront. I felt like with my conversations when I was in the higher education part. And now it's more a heavy emphasis of, you know, how I performed academically with my grades and more so counseling of ensuring they're on that college prep trajectory, what are the courses that they're selecting? And how does that fit with their future goals, and then obviously, fulfilling the courses that colleges would like to see to make sure that they're well prepared for what's to come.

So I feel like there's been more of an emphasis recently, and on more of their academic record, than test scores, and encompassing also, that with their extracurricular activities, or their volunteering, and their essay responses and letters of recommendation, have gotten even more important.

The other thing that I've seen, like, that has changed during my time is, with the application process, there's been a growing number of colleges that have adopted a self report, academic record and the application. So meaning, the student actually tells the institution, what were the classes I took, what were the grades that I received. I know all three Iowa universities do this, the University of Illinois, University of Minnesota Twin Cities. So they've all encompassed that and even self reporting their test scores if they choose to report those on the application.

Now, even when I applied to college, it was just like an automatic that you sent your transcripts wherever you went. And that's not necessarily the case for where all students apply now.

And then to answer your follow up question of like how high school students have changed over, you know, the past decade, I do see more students being a lot more aware and savvy with the total cost of attendance and not just looking at initially the cost of their first year at a college or university, but really, how much is my overall education going to cost me I'm really looking at the impact of the debt and how that could impact them for the rest of their life. So even within my own friend group from high school to what I'm seeing over the past 10 years, is students are making more informed decisions based on costs. It was very common even this year, the senior class that I worked with where they might have been admitted to their dream college or. And then, after the financial aid packages came back, or the scholarships they received, they shifted to a different institution still, you know, felt like they'd get a good education felt a good fit at that particular college. But it was more affordable.

Also, for my students that have aspirations of going on to professional school, yeah, they're not only looking at what is the cost of my bachelor's degree, but ultimately add that with, you know, going to medical school or law school. And that's where they are deciding to go to college as well of really the most affordable option because they know, I'm going to have additional costs as I go to professional school.

Colleen  25:50  

The other thing that I've seen, probably, you know, roughly two years ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic started was more students taking a gap year just to explore their interests, turn ship go abroad, or before that go abroad, like before the pandemic. The other thing that I've also seen is students applying to an increased number of colleges. We have seen trends as well in college admissions throughout these last few years, the application numbers continue to climb throughout the United States. But you know, with that comes that the number of spots at the colleges their students are applying to, necessarily has not increased. So the competition has just gotten greater. And I think the pressure that high school students put on themselves through the process has become more evident, as the years have gone on in my professional experience.

Venkat Raman  26:58  

So I wanted to ask you a couple of things about students that you see. Are they clear about what they want to study? How, you know, What kind of distribution do you find the students who go in undeclared? And does that impact their college choices? I mean, not knowing or knowing?

Colleen  27:18  [Going Undeclared]

Yes, I think for the students that have a good grasp idea of the area that they want to go into for a particular major, that does help them narrow their institutions on their application list a little bit quicker, because they'll see, okay, for example, does this institution have architecture as a major, and then they can reduce? Okay, so these number of institutions that I was initially considering don't have that program. So I'll remove them from my list.

For students that are undecided, or have kind of a couple of different things that they're exploring, I always, you know, reiterate to students to make sure what support systems do they have in place, at the institutions that they might be considering to make sure that they feel supported and navigating their interests and ultimately, to a major. And time and time again, I would say, for, you know, the 16, or 17 year olds that I talk to on a daily basis, many of them aren't quite sure what exactly they want to major in. And I always say like, that is completely okay, this is a time in your life, to navigate those interests, and to see and explore about, you know, a third of students that go into our public universities in the state of Iowa actually go undecided or undeclared open option, another third switch their major.

So, you know, roughly two thirds of students in my state particular will change your major or go in Open option. And I think, sometimes for students that are not quite sure what they want to go into, that opens more communication of, should I start at a local community college and take my general education courses to save money and then ultimately transfer I think there's more conversations on that piece. That also affects of, well, I kind of feel like I should stay closer to home, if I'm not quite sure, you know, with my college choice, again, with financial reasons as well. So that goes hand in hand with if a student kind of knows a major area or if they're undeclared.

Venkat Raman  29:46  

Now, where do you stand on applying early or not applying early? Well, what's your thought on this?

Colleen  29:54  [Early Application Strategy]

Yeah, so I would say about 40% of my seniors applied either early action or early decision this past fall, a lot more obviously did early action, just due to the non nature of those applications. And then, you know, 60% dead regular decision, I think for those students who have been able to connect with the college or universities that they're ultimately applying to, so whether that's going to campus visit, meeting with an admissions counselor talking to a professor, or maybe friends or family that have attended that institution, I think that completely makes sense for them to apply early. Really, the advantage is that they hear back sooner, so they can make a more informed decision through their senior year. Usually, that would be in December. Some other benefits that I've seen some schools also try applying early to maximizing consideration for merit based scholarships. So especially for my students that are looking out of state, it is to their advantage to consider early action, and, you know, hopes of getting the maximum merit based scholarships to offset costs. For those students that, you know, maybe haven't had the ability to visit a campus or still exploring options. That's completely okay to do the regular decision timeline of December, January, and hearing back later, in early spring of their senior year. So those are kind of my tidbits of applying early versus waiting.

Venkat Raman  31:47  

Okay, so switching to the current times the impact of COVID, I kind of just wanted to dwell on how it has, you see impacted the students more than anything else, you know, how do you, you know, they've gone through this for the past two years. How do you think that has impacted them at your school? I know, You've been there for, starting fall, but how do you see them?

Colleen  32:15  [COVID Impact]

Yes, you know, I think it's been eye opening to go from the college side of college admissions to the high school side. And we heard the impacts that the fluctuation between in person and online and hybrid modeling was happening to students in the K 12 system.

But it really wasn't until I started this year, in the K 12. Setting, that it was the challenges that have been brought about with the COVID 19 pandemic. I think with all students, they obviously went through an incredibly difficult academic situation that, you know, we will struggle with for years to understand and overcome. But I also think at the heart that I've seen at our school, is the toll that it took on students’ mental health. Although I am, you know, the College and Career coordinator, at Dowling, I have seen a number of students come in and speak with me, and regarding the challenges with their mental health, whether it be from anxiety, to depression, the amount, immense pressure that they're putting on themselves to live up to high expectations. And, you know, when something negatively impacts them, it tends to sometimes cause them to just collapse. So being aware of the resources to help support them within their mental health, for them to be successful as a student as a, as a person, has been probably the most evident impact I've seen over the course of this year.

Venkat Raman  34:04  

What would you tell all these now rising seniors about you know, college applications and all the things that are changing the trends and the impact that all this has had? How should they approach this whole business of college applications, you think?

Colleen  34:25  [Advice for High Schoolers]

Yes, I know. From my experiences with sophomores and juniors, even family members, it is a very overt process and especially if they're new to this experience, it's really a good idea to have a conversation with your school counselor or with if you're, you know, fortunate to have a college counselor, having conversations with your parents with mentors, coaches, or teachers.

And also, you know, I recommend For students that are going to go through the process starting shortly this summer in the fall, again, to be aware that there's many steps involved in the application process. I think, if I look back and talk with our seniors, they would mention, they didn't realize how much time it took to go through all of the steps with their college application.

So from writing, you know, supplemental essays to requesting recommendation letters to requesting sending transcripts, even simply filling out the common app form. I think sometimes they underestimated the amount of time it actually was going to take them. And even in particular, for our students that I knew were applying to 10 or 20 colleges. If you added up of each college, for example, having two essays required, and you'll find the 10 colleges, that's 20 essays that they needed to write. Now, some students obviously use the same essay for each college. But you know, some institutions have supplemental essays that have a particular question that a student needs to respond to.

 I would also recommend, and I know this probably is reiterated from other school counselors across the country is not waiting until the last minute to submit everything. or forgetting, you know, teachers and high school counselors have a full time job on top of writing a letter of recommendation, giving time for them to say thank you, and giving them ample enough time to write a strong letter of recommendation is also a great tip.

The other thing that I would have students considering going through the college application process next year is ask yourself, if you're deciding whether to admit you into the university or college that you're applying to, would your essay, keep your attention and convey who you are as an individual, and focusing more on telling your story versus what you think a college or university admissions counselor would like to hear.

Venkat Raman  37:18  

Sure.

Venkat Raman  37:23  

So Colleen, we are sort of winding down here. I wanted to sort of close with this question to you on what what is keeping you excited? What What drew you into counseling? I'm assuming that it has lived up to that and more. How, what keeps you going?

Colleen  37:46  [Staying Excited]

Yeah, I think what keeps me motivated, and you know, I wake up every morning and look forward to is that I love getting to know each student for who they are, and what excites them in their life, and what their unique story is, and, you know, every student that walks into my office has a different way of approaching and just their qualities. And I appreciate my role now that I can experience, even just the profound changes each student goes through during high school, and on to the next chapter in their life. Previously, I might have just met a student and a counseling center for 30 minutes, they applied to the institution I was recruiting for, and may never have a conversation again. Whereas I can see students, you know, have changes from freshmen all the way through senior year now. And I think that's very fulfilling.

I'm also really fortunate to have a student body who has high aspirations for themselves, who are truly caring individuals. They're respectful, their faith filled leaders. And that gives me satisfaction of just like being very fortunate of the student body that we have at my high school. And if I can have even the slightest impact on a young person's life throughout the support and advice I provide them, I think that makes all the difference to me and my fulfillment as a college counselor.

Venkat Raman  39:15  

That sounds fantastic. So Colleen, thank you so much for taking the time sharing your thoughts and perspective. Sure, it will be beneficial to all the high schoolers out there trying to figure out things, okay, college journeys, in particular. And I'm sure I want to talk to you more, but for right now, take care be safe. Thank you so much.

Colleen  39:39  

Thank you. Bye, bye

—---------------

Venkat  39:48

Hi again!

Hope you enjoyed our podcast with Colleen Koppes of Dowling Catholic High School in Des Moines Iowa.

Colleen went into counseling to provide the guidance and support she wished she would have had as a high schooler.

She believes:

• Every Student should own their experience
• Students need to take a hard look at what they want and need from their college experience
• Helps Students through Asking questions, advocating for them and
• Provide Guidance based on her decade-long experiences.

I hope students and parents find Colleen’s guidance valuable.

For your questions or comments on this podcast, please email podcast at almamatters.io [podcast@almamatters.io].

Thank you all so much for listening to our podcast today.

Transcripts for this podcast and previous podcasts are on almamatters.io forward slash podcasts [almamatters.io/podcasts].

To stay connected with us, Subscribe to Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or Spotify or visit anchor.fm forward slash almamatters [anchor.fm/almamatters] to check us out.

Till we meet again, take care and be safe.

Thank you!

Summary Keywords

Podcast for High Schoolers, US Colleges, College Podcast, High School Counselor, High School Students, College Counseling, College Admissions, College Application, Extracurricular, Applying to US Colleges, Dowling Catholic High School, Des Moines, Iowa, Advice for High School Students, COVID Impact, Applying Early, Dream Colleges.