Co-Creating College with Students

The Most Important Agent Is You

Everyone obsesses over getting in. Harlan Cohen talk focuses on what comes after, because the secret ingredient was never the school. It's the student. Harlan Cohen has spent 25+ years helping families navigate the transition into and through college. He's the author of The Naked Roommate, the bestselling book on college life, and Win or Learn, and he runs the Best First Year coaching program. What we cover: Harlan starts with his own rocky first year — losing his roommate, his fraternity bids, and his girlfriend in a matter of weeks — and how it taught him that rejection creates reflection. We get into "wantrophy": what happens when high-achieving kids get so good at being wanted that they lose track of what they actually want. From there, his framework for the search — the six transitions every student faces (social, emotional, physical, financial, academic, professional) and his "people, places, patience" method for finding real fit. He reframes freshman year as the "getting-comfortable year," makes the case for parents as low-stakes coaches, and argues that in an AI-shaped world, curiosity is currency — so don't wait for a job, create one. What Parents Should Ask: * Which of the six transitions matter most for my student, and which schools support those? * On a visit, who are the specific people and places tied to what my kid wants to do? * How accessible are the clubs, research, and internships my student wants? * Does advising here encourage curiosity, or just box-checking toward a degree? Find Harlan: Website - https://harlancohen.com/ [https://harlancohen.com/] Coaching Program - https://bestfirstyear.com/ [https://bestfirstyear.com/] Find Ringae: Website - https://waysmith.io/ [https://waysmith.io/] Book a discovery call - https://cal.com/waysmith/discovery-call [https://cal.com/waysmith/discovery-call] Sign up for my newsletter - https://waysmith.io/#newsletter [https://waysmith.io/#newsletter]

The Student Is the Only One Who Sees the Whole Journey

Brian LeDuc is a design strategist who's spent 15+ years working at the intersection of higher ed, corporate learning, and service design. He runs a consulting practice, Learning Designed, where he works with universities to redesign how campuses support the student experience. His thesis: higher ed was not designed around students. It can be — but most campuses are still set up like a mall, where each "store" (academic advising, residence life, the career center, faculty office hours) operates independently and has no awareness that the student walking through the door has just been to four other stores that day. What we cover: Why the discovery years matter, and why "what's your major?" is the wrong question. Brian argues that 50–80% of employers say the major doesn't matter, and that early general education classes are actually slots for exploration. A better framing he offers: pick a problem you want to solve, then let that shape your major, your classes, and the experiences you build. What to look for in advising. Big professional advising centers, cross-disciplinary advising for undeclared students, advisor time per student, and whether the same kind of support extends past freshman year. Most campuses front-load support and then leave students to figure it out. Whether the campus listens to students. Brian distinguishes between superficial signals (student advisory councils stacked with engaged campus residents who don't represent the actual student body) and real listening structures including innovation labs, ongoing feedback engines, and leaders whose strategic plans reflect what students are saying. The role of AI on campus, and where to be wary. Useful for transactional, self-serve answers. A red flag when it replaces human interactions in advising, career counseling, and other places where the relationship is the point. Work-integrated learning and on-campus jobs as a launchpad — especially for first-gen students. Ask what students are actually doing in their campus jobs, not just whether they have one. And to close: Brian's advice for what parents and students should do on a campus visit — walk off the tour route, stop students at random, and ask two questions. What Parents Should Ask: * Walk off the tour route. Ask 5–10 students: what's one word you'd use to describe this university, and why? Then: what's something you wish you'd known about this school before you got here? * Ask your tour guide: who are the two people on campus who've helped you be successful, and how? The second name tells you where the real support culture lives. * How does advising work past freshman year? Is there sophomore- and junior-year support, or are students on their own once they declare? * Is there a structure on campus for ongoing student listening — beyond a student advisory council? * When does career conversation start? Freshman year, or senior year? Find Brian: LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfleduc/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfleduc/] Substack — https://brianfleduc.substack.com/ [https://brianfleduc.substack.com/] Find Ringae: Website — https://waysmith.io/ [https://waysmith.io/] Book a discovery call — https://cal.com/waysmith/discovery-call [https://cal.com/waysmith/discovery-call] Sign up for my newsletter — https://waysmith.io/#newsletter [https://waysmith.io/#newsletter]

Co-Creating College with Students

Tom Ellett meets with his freshman advisory board on Sunday nights. He runs four standing advisory boards at Quinnipiac, for first-years, upperclassmen, dining, and parents, and works with them to co-design their college experience. Tom Ellett is the Chief Experience Officer at Quinnipiac University — a role that didn't exist before he stepped into it in 2020, and still an unusual one in higher ed. Before Quinnipiac, he spent 19 years at NYU helping shape the student experience for tens of thousands of students. What we cover: What the Chief Experience Officer role involves. How Tom uses advisory boards (for first-years, upperclassmen, dining, and parents) as real-time feedback infrastructure. Co-creation as a design principle: three of Quinnipiac's dining operations are now run by students who manage the P&L, hire and fire, and set the programming. When Tom arrived, zero students worked in dining; now there are over 250. The trade-offs conversation Tom has openly with students. Listening Labs, a structured small-group practice developed by Yael Shy at NYU that Tom is rolling out at Quinnipiac to rebuild conversation skills he sees eroding post-COVID. How to evaluate experiential learning claims on a college tour, what to ask about wellness beyond the counselor-to-student ratio, and why the "zen factor" of a campus matters. What Parents Should Ask: * What does this institution do that differentiates it from peer schools? Where's the actual innovation? * How are students involved in decision-making? Where are the formal mechanisms for student voice? * What opportunities does my student have to leave a legacy — to build or change something while they're here? * What things is this school doing to engage students who wouldn't normally seek out mental health support? * Where are the quiet places on this campus? Are there spaces designed for reflection, not just productivity? Find Tom: Quinnipiac — https://www.qu.edu/faculty-and-staff/thomas-ellett/ [https://www.qu.edu/faculty-and-staff/thomas-ellett/] On LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-ellett-27b1b7325/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-ellett-27b1b7325/] Find Ringae: Website — https://waysmith.io/ [https://waysmith.io/] Book a discovery call — https://cal.com/waysmith/discovery-call [https://cal.com/waysmith/discovery-call] Sign up for my newsletter — https://waysmith.io/#newsletter [https://waysmith.io/#newsletter]

Upside Down: Rethinking When Career Learning Starts

Most colleges say they do experiential learning. Alex Hernandez can tell you exactly what separates the ones that mean it. Alex is president of Champlain College, a small career-focused school in Burlington, Vermont, where students start taking classes in their major on day one — not junior year. The model is built on a simple premise: experience is part of the education, not a bonus you might get around to. Alex Hernandez has spent his career thinking about how education creates opportunity. His father was a farm worker; his first job was on Wall Street. For 20-plus years, he's been working on what it takes to make that kind of leap accessible to more students. He came to Champlain because it was doing that — deliberately, not by accident. What we cover: * Champlain's upside-down curriculum — why students start their major on day one, and what that makes possible for internships and career exploration in year one * How the curriculum works for students who don't know what they want yet, including a Lego-block model that lets students combine and remix across majors * What a campus-based internship actually looks like — and why it's a meaningful bridge experience * The recent curriculum redesign: Flex 30 credits, interdisciplinary studios, and co-ops that let students earn and learn without delaying graduation * What families should actually ask when a college claims to do experiential learning — and which statistics to push on * Why work-integrated learning is harder to build than it sounds, and what it takes to do it in a way that sticks * What Parents Should Ask: * Does experiential learning happen at the core of the program, or at the fringes? * What percentage of your graduating class do you actually survey for employment outcomes? * What is the school doing to help students access internships — or are students on their own to find them? Connect with Alex Champlain College website: https://www.champlain.edu/ [https://www.champlain.edu/] Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhernandez/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexhernandez/] Connect with Ringae Book a complimentary discovery call: https://cal.com/waysmith/discovery-call [https://cal.com/waysmith/discovery-call] Sign up for the newsletter: https://waysmith.io/#newsletter [https://waysmith.io/#newsletter] Visit my website: https://waysmith.io/ [https://waysmith.io/] Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ringae/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ringae/]

Doubles Your Odds: The Case for Work-Integrated Learning

A graduate with an internship doubles their odds of having a good job at graduation — and doubles their odds of being engaged in their work for the rest of their career. So why do only a third of U.S. college graduates leave school having had one? Brandon Busteed has spent his career at the intersection of education and workforce outcomes — as founder of an ed-tech company, as the executive at Gallup who led the largest representative study of college graduates in U.S. history, and now as CEO of Edconic, which runs industry-immersive degree programs with partners like Sotheby's, Vogue College of Fashion, The School of the New York Times, and Manchester City Sports Business School. His argument: where your kid gets in matters less than what happens after they arrive. We get into the Gallup research — specifically what the data says about internships, long-term projects, mentors, and relationship-rich experiences, and why most families aren't asking about any of them. The findings are striking. Students who complete a long-term project spanning a semester or more also double their odds of workplace engagement — because that kind of sustained, iterative work mirrors what most jobs actually require. And students who report having a mentor who encouraged their goals and dreams? Same effect on lifelong wellbeing. Only 22% of graduates say they had one. We also talk about what questions to actually ask on a college tour — not "do you offer internships?" (every school will say yes) but what percentage of students across all majors actually complete one, and whether they receive academic credit for it. That second question is the real signal: academic credit means the institution treats work-integrated learning as core, not an optional add-on. A counterintuitive finding worth sitting with: humanities majors who get internships differentiate themselves with employers more effectively than STEM majors alone. Employers want broadly educated and specifically skilled — and the combination is more powerful than either alone. Brandon shares data showing an English major with an industry credential is four times more likely to be hired than an English major without one. We also get into how AI is changing this calculus — and not entirely in the ways you'd expect — plus what a genuine teaching culture looks like on a campus versus what colleges say about it, and why the liberal arts versus vocational training debate is one of the biggest things holding higher ed back right now. What Parents Should Ask: * What percentage of students across all majors complete an internship — not just in a few programs? * Is it required, or optional? * Do students receive academic credit for internships? * Is there funding available for students doing unpaid or low-paid internships? * Does this major have a capstone or long-term project requirement? * Who are the faculty here known for their teaching — not their research output? Find Brandon: On LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/busteed/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/busteed/] On Forbes - https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonbusteed/ [https://www.forbes.com/sites/brandonbusteed/] Find Ringae: Website - https://waysmith.io/ [https://waysmith.io/] Book a discovery call - https://cal.com/waysmith/discovery-call [https://cal.com/waysmith/discovery-call] Sign up for my newsletter - https://waysmith.io/#newsletter [https://waysmith.io/#newsletter]