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Another college application season is around the corner\, and stress is already beginning to ratchet u p for teens and their parents. You&rsquo\;re invited to join us for this m ust-watch talk by Irena Smith\, PhD. You will hear about constructive and healthy ways to approach the college application process\, preserve your r elationship with your teen\, and help them define success on their terms i nstead of chasing the elusive &ldquo\;golden ticket.&rdquo\;
\nIrena is a former Stanford Admissions Officer who has spent eighteen years advi sing accomplished\, tightly wound students in Palo Alto and around the wor ld. She saw firsthand the extreme measures parents took to help their chil dren gain admission to highly selective colleges and the toll it took on t he children as well as on their parents.
\nAt the same time\, Irena& rsquo\;s own children struggled with developmental delays\, learning diffe rences\, severe depression\, and anxiety. She kept her double life&mdash\; successful college counselor at work\, anxious mom at home&mdash\;tightly under wraps for years until a stunning realization: she was exactly like t he anxious parents of the students she worked with\, all of whom were equa lly terrified about \;their \;children's future. Irena&rsquo\;s me moir\, "The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays"\, which ca ndidly explores her personal as well as professional life\, was published in 2023\, and she has since devoted her time to speaking out about hard th ings: the heavy burden of generational expectations\, teen and young adult mental health\, and the importance of embracing a broader\, more generous vision of what it means to succeed. \;
\nAbout the Author: \;Irena Smith is an author\, former Stanford admissions officer\, independ ent college counselor\, and mother of three extraordinary children. She em igrated from the former Soviet Union with her parents when she was nine ye ars old. In spite of her fierce insistence that she would never\, not ever \, learn English\, she went on to earn a BA in English and then a PhD in C omparative Literature (both from UCLA\, where she received a Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award and Dissertation Year Fellowship). Irena taught literature and composition at UCLA and Stanford before transitioning to co llege admissions\, college advising\, and writing. Her recently published memoir\, "The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays" is the w inner of the Story Circle Network's Gilda Award\, named in honor of comedi an Gilda Radner to recognize honest\, authentic writing that "makes us lau gh even when we want to cry." It's been described by Forbes as &ldquo\;cap tivating and smart&hellip\; a potential antidote to the fevered belief tha t being admitted to an elite college will spell the difference between a s uccessful life vs. a doomed future.&rdquo\; \;
\nThis program is brought to you in partnership with the Library Speakers Consortium\, whic h provides access to a range of talks from bestselling authors and thought leaders.
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