Beth Whelley: Establishing Personal Brand as a Student by Archbishop Alter High School

STEM Talk-Professor Mitch Wolff by Archbishop Alter High School

Norm Rich, a beloved high school and college professor, offers a some advice for 8th graders as they enter their high school years. The message is good for anyone ages 8-80 years old, and for students and parents alike. It provides a gentle reminder to all of us that there are many lessons to be learned outside the classroom and how easy it is to become overly focused solely on academic or athletic success. You will hear about three basic “C’s” in this podcast: Contribution, Character & Charity. They will be highlighted through some wonderful and relevant stories.

Intro: Today, I am fortunate to be speaking with Sharon Talarczyk, who is the Director of the Taylor Resource Center here at Archbishop Alter High School. There are many impressive facts that can be shared relative to center, but probably the most impressive is the correlation between the inception of the center and scholarship growth. When the center opened in 2009, the graduating class of 2010 amassed $3.3M in scholarships offered and last year the class of 2017 was offered $19.5M. Really impressive growth by any standard and I know a lot of factors played into that growth, but the things that are taught, learned and shared in here in the Taylor Center are an important piece. Today, on the Competitive Advantage, we want to pass along some of that information to all of you. So, let’s jump on in. Sharon, welcome to the program! Questions: In the areas of organization & time management, I know you help a lot of students individually with this skill, what are a few tips or tricks you can pass on to our listeners to help them in this area? In grade school, parents handle most of the communication with the teachers, and now suddenly in high school, that responsibility begins to shift to the student. What advice would you give regarding both helping parents and children in that shift? We hear the phrase “guarding your GPA” thrown around a lot. What does that exactly mean and why is it one of the most important things you can stress to a freshman? Upon entering high school, college seems far off, yet at the same time it feels like a dauting process to even begin to start. How do you recommend people begin the college search? How can a student or parents begin to research career & majors? What are the best ways and tools to use to research schools? What are the most important things a freshman or sophomore can do if their goal is to attend their college of choice?