A Day in the Life, Part IV
For those who have followed our blog for a while, you might remember Colleen, Shannon, and STACI sharing a behind-the-scenes perspective of life at DC College Counseling. NOW WE WaNT TO GIVE YOU SOME INSIGHT INTO OUR BUSIESt TIME OF YEAR - AUGUST! - In PART IV of our day in the life series.
At the Front Desk:
When you enter our office, you will likely be greeted by Libby! Libby holds down the fort at the front desk, welcoming students in for their in-person essay coaching appointments. You’ve probably also seen emails from her with reminders about tasks or scheduling. She is busy making sure that all of our students have enough appointments on the calendar during this hectic month!
We also wanted to capture our entry wall - so fun to see all of the college memorabilia and interesting articles (many of which feature Colleen!). We used Framebridge to design this back in 2020 and they did a great job!
Libby is also in charge of ordering snacks and stocking up our candy jar, so if you have any special requests, make sure you let her know! She has everything freshly stocked and ready for the next few weeks.
Our office is on the first floor of our building, but we also see some families from the pediatrician’s office upstairs. In fact, today we had a prospective client and her rising ninth grader stop in after seeing our sign on a visit to the doctor! P.S. We love the pediatricians upstairs! Colleen uses them for her children and they are amazing.
Another post-pediatrician visit! Colleen’s friend Amanda also stopped by with her new baby after visiting the doctor - but this one probably isn’t ready to start college counseling just yet!
IN THE ESSAY COACHING OFFICE:
Staci is in the office today because we have several in-person essay coaching meetings scheduled - but in between, she is also ready with her laptop for students who prefer to meet virtually.
In addition to helping students with their generic and school-specific supplemental essays for most of the month, Staci is also meeting with a former client who is currently working on her graduate school applications, as well as doing interview prep with a student who is preparing for an upcoming William & Mary interview (p.s. - if you are a client with an interview coming up too, you can book a prep session here).
Staci isn’t our only essay coach working today - the rest of our coaches are just as busy with virtual meetings from home. Most of our students prefer virtual meetings, so for now our team is working with a hybrid approach to be able to accommodate everyone’s preferences.
IN the College Counseling Offices:
Shannon and Colleen are here for most of the week in August. In addition to updating the Common Application rollover guides and helping students complete their application work, they are also reading and reviewing essays and applications behind the scenes, and making sure each student stays on track!
Colleen checking the mail first thing in the morning. This is our back door, which provides access to the rest of the building - like the bathrooms!
While typically more of us are doing hybrid work during the school year, in the summer Shannon and Colleen are here almost every day! Today, Colleen got in early and will leave around 6:00pm, while Shannon will hold down the fort until 8:00pm.
…And remotely!
In our current hybrid work plan, many team members are working from home rather than the office, including Donna, Grace, and some of our essay coaching team.
McClain’s home workspace…
…and a couple very cute coworkers!
McClain’s share: “About to hop on an essay coaching session to help a student revise one of her Wake Forest supplemental essays! To get ready for my meetings each day, I usually spend time preparing the night before. I look at where each student is in the writing process, find the document links I'll need, and create skeleton recap emails to fill in post-meeting. My coaching sessions are usually in the afternoons since I’m with my kids—Theo, 1.5, and James, 3—most mornings. This organizational routine allows us to enjoy our favorite summer activities (pool, playground, and lots of ice cream breaks) without stressing about being prepared for my students in the afternoon. My WFH setup is very fancy—my dining room table :). I’m always ready with a flavored seltzer, a big cup of water, and way too many open tabs.”
WRAPPING UP:
Colleen’s kids stop by to grab snacks with their au pair before Colleen leaves to take her daughter Caroline to an appointment at 6:00. She’ll likely be back online at night to review progress from the day and respond to emails!
Caroline, 11, will be in 6th grade this year, and James, almost 7, will be in 1st grade! James has a big smile on his face because he thinks he’s getting away with taking handfuls of snacks to eat before dinner (sadly, it was not to be and most of them ended up back on the shelves!).
August is a crazy month, but it is also so exciting to see our students’ hard work start to come together. Now we’ve got to get back to it!