Shannon is joining us again today to share her perspective from a day in the life here at DC College Counseling - truly, there is never a dull moment!
If you have been following us for a while, you may recall Colleen’s blog post a couple of years ago giving a glimpse into a day in the life of our office! Today, I wanted to share my version of a behind-the-scenes look at how we do things here at DC College Counseling.
7:00 am -
My alarm goes off. The first thing I do is check my email, to make sure there is nothing urgent to address. Thankfully, no crisis today! One of my favorite things about working at DC College Counseling is the later start time, because I am able to get through my morning routine. Every morning, I meditate, do some yoga, and get my workout in - this is really such important time for me.
As I have breakfast, I check some email and send off a couple of quick responses. I also log into our project management system, Asana, to see my tasks for the day and start to create a plan of action. While I try to keep some balance in my work life, I usually can’t resist getting a head start by completing a couple of quick tasks in the morning. It makes me feel that much more prepared for my day.
10:00 am -
11:30 am -
Head to the office. We need to be available after school to meet with students, so my day in the office doesn’t start until noon on Mondays and Tuesdays. I’m a podcast junkie, so my 15-minute commute is the perfect time to catch up on the news with The Daily or get a glimpse into the world of owning a small business (considering that I work at one!) with Stacking Your Team - check out this episode featuring Colleen!
11:45 am -
Arrive at the office. Honestly, no matter how hectic my day is about to be, I always get a little wave of calm from walking into our office - it’s just so beautiful! The first time I came in, I was thrilled to see William & Mary represented on our wall. Colleen is already busy meeting with a client, so I’ll have to check in with her later. On days like today, both of us have so many meetings it is hard to find a spare minute!
12:00 pm -
I’m starting the day by adding content to our monthly newsletters, so that our current clients can get some important information from us and our prospective clients can learn more about our process. I am especially excited to spotlight some of our college profiles for our Class of 2022 and 2023 students. I’ve been working hard to build up our profiles library for our clients. Get a sneak peek of this month’s featured school, the University of Richmond.
12:30 pm -
In my first meeting of the day, I’m working with one of our clients who is applying for an MBA program. I really enjoy working with our graduate school and transfer applicants, so I’m excited to get into another MBA application.
Colleen and I are both vaccinated, so we don’t have to wear masks in the office anymore when it’s just the two of us here! The rest of our team has not been vaccinated yet and are still fully remote.
1:30 pm -
Jumping out of Meeting #1 and straight into Meeting #2! Another current college student looking at graduate programs.
2:30 pm
Quick break for lunch. On a nice day, I love to order from Zoe’s Kitchen - so close to our office, and it is great to get outside for a little walk in the middle of the afternoon :)
2:45 pm -
Fire off some more emails and reminders to current clients.
3:00 pm -
Back to my meetings - a couple of brainstorming sessions with Class of 2022 students. I prep for each meeting by looking at their college preferences, so I can come prepared with some good matches to add to the list. I love this part of the process, and it really helps me get to know all of our clients as we start to build their college lists.
6:00 pm -
Wrap up meetings for the day - phew! Double-check that all of my detailed recap emails have gone out to each student, and they have all the information they need to complete their action items. Reward myself by raiding the candy jar - one of the best DC College Counseling perks!
I swear there’s some chocolate at the bottom somewhere!
6:05 pm -
Update our Summer Opportunities Database with some new opportunities that have come in throughout the day, and add in some others that I found interesting.
Colleen finishing up some last emails before heading out - we try to stagger our schedules to offer more availability to our clients!
6:15 pm -
Record some instructional videos that we can add to the website to help our clients with systems like the Wow Writing Workshop - now that Common App essay topics have been released, we want our students to be able to hit the ground running!
7:00 pm -
I like the opportunity to turn my attention to some longer-term projects and ideas once things quiet down a bit and I have the time. We have some great stuff coming your way, including my drop-in hours pilot and academic coaching sessions. We are also working hard to launch our new and improved Membership Vault this spring!
A lot of really great information is coming your way!
8:00 pm -
Finish up any emails that have come in later in the evening and head home!