High School Hamster Wheel

High School Hamster Wheel

Are you tired of watching the teenagers in your life trying desperately to keep up on the high school hamster wheel? Is your teen confused about which direction to take after high school graduation? Is your young adult rethinking their future career path? Our world is changing and our kids need to know all of the options available after high school so they can feel empowered to make the choice that is best for them. Through interviews with industry experts and leaders in education, we will explore the latest trends that are shaping the opportunities of today and tomorrow.

Episodes

May 27, 2025 43 mins
Is college worth it? In this episode, I sat down with Amber Gilsdorf, an Independent Educational Consultant at Estrella Consulting, to unpack this complex and timely question. We explore how families can evaluate the true return on investment (ROI) of college, what metrics matter most, and why personal values and readiness play a major role in long-term success. We also talk about the importance of looking beyond rankings and stic...
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Welcome to the High School Hamster Wheel podcast! I’m Betsy Jewell. It’s been a while—okay, a long while—since I last released an episode. Life has been busy with some exciting new projects, and I can’t wait to share one of them with you soon! But today, I have some bittersweet news. This episode marks the beginning of the final three episodes of the High School Hamster Wheel podcast. I can hardly believe it’s been over five years ...
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In this episode of the High School Hamster Wheel podcast, I am joined by Jared Chung, executive director of CareerVillage.org, a nonprofit that provides online career advising to help young people prepare for their future careers. Jared discusses the organization's flagship career Q&A platform where young people can ask any career-related question and receive answers from over 150,000 volunteer professionals. He also introduces the...
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In this episode, I am thrilled to welcome Nat Greene to the podcast. Nat has accelerated the careers of hundreds of professionals of all ages as a consultant, coach, and business leader. Today, we'll be diving into some thought-provoking topics around education, including why the current system is broken, the misconceptions about the college application process, and innovative solutions like Nat's new venture, Futures Forge. This c...
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Today we are diving deep into the essential conversations about finding career success in today’s job market. In this episode, I am thrilled to welcome Jeanetta Warren, founder and CEO of JW Professional Writing Services, and the president-elect of the New Jersey Career Development Association. Jeanetta brings a wealth of knowledge in resume writing, LinkedIn profiles, and career branding. During our conversation, we will explore t...
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I am super excited to bring you part two of my conversation with Dr. Emily Edlynn. Emily is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in pediatric health psychology who works in private practice with children, teens, and adults. She is also the author of her first book titled “Autonomy-Supportive Parenting = Reduce Parental Burnout and Raise Competent, Confident Children.” In episode 140, Emily and I talked about autonomy-suppo...
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I am thrilled to bring you my conversation with Dr. Emily Edlynn, a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in pediatric health psychology who works in private practice with children, teens, and adults. Dr. Edlynn is also the author of her first book, "Autonomy-Supportive Parenting = Reduce Parental Burnout and Raise Competent, Confident Children.” I picked up a copy of Emily’s book and couldn’t put it down. I just knew I had t...
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Today I am joined by Pam Roy. Pam Roy is a writer, filmmaker, investor, and philanthropist with a mission to provide community-based support for youth and families. Pam and I have a shared passion for parenting and educational transformation. During our conversation, Pam shares content from her new book, “Parenting From the Passenger Seat”, which by the way, is a must-read for anyone who parents, mentors or works with teens. We als...
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Today I am joined by Hassan Akmal, Executive Director, Career and Professional Development, UC San Diego, Author, Professor, Future of Work Expert, Career and Life Mastery Consultant, and TEDx Speaker. During our conversation, Hassan tells the story of his extraordinary path through high school, and college, as a tennis pro, and as a career development professional. It’s a pretty incredible story and one that demonstrates the value...
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It’s a new year and I’m excited to bring you new episodes with some pretty amazing guests, beginning right now. My guest today is Dr. Denise Pope. Denise is a Senior Lecturer at Stanford University Graduate School of Education and is also the co-founder of Challenge Success, a school reform nonprofit. Additionally, she is the author of “Doing School": How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic, and Miseducated ...
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Today I am joined by Marcia Wall. Marcia is a certified Global Career Development Facilitator and a Certified Career Services Provider through the National Career Development Association. She is also certified to coach people who cope with mental illness and/or substance abuse issues. In today’s episode. Marcia and I will be discussing two words you may or may not be familiar with: Happenstance and Coddiwampling. Both two very fun ...
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In this episode, I am joined by Nicole Precourt. Nicole is a Career and Educational Counselor and the owner of Waves of Change Careers. Nicole and I met in an online group for career coaches and counselors and immediately connected. We share a passion for helping teens and young adults explore and prepare for future careers. It’s become unfortunately clear to both of us that many students are graduating college without the career r...
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In this episode, I am super excited to welcome Erin Lewber to the podcast. I met Erin recently on LinkedIn. I had been following Erin for a while and knew I had to reach out to her. Erin brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to the show gained through her years of experience in staffing, recruiting, leadership and career coaching. During our conversation, we discuss today’s job search trends and the future of work. Erin shares v...
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In today’s episode, I am thrilled to welcome Leah Jewell back to the podcast. You might remember Leah from episode 30 when we talked about the future of work for teens and young adults. It’s hard to believe that our conversation was THREE years ago. The future of work has changed dramatically in that short time and I’m delighted that Leah agreed to come back to talk more about this important topic. Since we last spoke, Leah has co-...
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In today’s episode, I am thrilled to welcome Deepali Vyas to the podcast. After spending a good part of her career in executive recruiting, Deepali has her finger on the pulse of the career landscape and what employers are looking for, and she has made it her mission to bring valuable advice and an amazing digital platform to help young people on their journey.  During our discussion, Deepali shares how and when she got her first t...
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In today’s episode, I am thrilled to welcome Devon Turcotte to the podcast. Devon is a career advisor and the owner of Careerified. She has worked with thousands of teens, parents, and educators throughout her career and she is a wealth of information and insight related to helping young people build meaningful careers. During our conversation, Devon and I discuss the importance of career exploration in high school and how it can b...
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Today I am thrilled to welcome Beth Probst to the show. Beth is the founder and CEO of At The Core. She has inspired parents of college-bound students to think strategically about how to select the best-fit college, major, and career so they don’t end up wasting precious time, energy, and money. In today’s episode, we’re focused on middle schoolers and why it’s not too early to be talking to them about careers. No, we’re not talkin...
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I’m super excited to bring you this episode. It is timely and relevant and provides amazing tips and advice for anyone who is interested in learning more about how to optimize their career search journey. My guest today is Jeremy Schifeling. Jeremy has devoted his career to helping others succeed in theirs. From teaching kindergarten in Brooklyn to recruiting top students at Teach For America to leading education marketing at Linke...
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I am joined today by Jean Eddy. Jean is the President and CEO of American Student Assistance (ASA), where she develops and drives the overall strategic direction of the organization. During Jean’s tenure, ASA has pivoted to a new focus on helping students discover potential career paths earlier in their education journey. As you’ll hear during this episode, Jean is someone who has unlimited passion and commitment to helping kids, a...
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If you know or you are a current college student or a student preparing for college, this is a conversation you will not want to miss. And if you are a parent who has helped your teen through the college application process then today’s guest likely needs no introduction. I am beyond thrilled to welcome Jeff Selingo to the podcast. For those who may not know, Jeff is a well-known journalist and respected thought leader in the areas...
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