Another college application season is arou nd the corner\, and stress is already growing for teens and their parents. In this must-watch talk by Irena Smith\, PhD\, you will hear constructive and healthy ways to approach the college application process\, preserve y our relationship with your teen\, and help them define success on their te rms instead of chasing the elusive &ldquo\;golden ticket.&rdquo\;
\nIrena is a former Stanford Admissions Officer who has spent 18 years advis ing accomplished\, tightly-wound students in Palo Alto and around the worl d. She saw firsthand the extreme measures parents took to help their child ren gain admission to highly selective colleges and the toll it took on th e children as well as on their parents.
\nAt the same time\, Irena&r squo\;s own children struggled with developmental delays\, learning differ ences\, severe depression\, and anxiety. She kept her double life&mdash\;s uccessful college counselor at work\, anxious mom at home&mdash\;tightly u nder wraps for years until a stunning realization: she was exactly like th e anxious parents of the students she worked with\, all of whom were equal ly terrified about \;their \;children's future. Irena&rsquo\;s mem oir\, \;The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays\, which candidly explores her personal as well as professional life\, wa s published in 2023. She has since devoted her time to speaking out about hard things: the heavy burden of generational expectations\, teen and youn g adult mental health\, and the importance of embracing a broader\, more g enerous vision of what it means to succeed. Learn more about Irena&rsquo\; s personal experience as a parent\, professional experience as a college a dmissions officer\, and leave with tips on how to help your child approach the application process in practical\, healthy ways.
\nIrena Smith is an author\, former Stanford admissions officer\, independent college co unselor\, and mother of three extraordinary children. She emigrated from t he former Soviet Union with her parents when she was nine years old. In sp ite of her fierce insistence that she would never\, not ever\, learn Engli sh\, she went on to earn a BA in English and then a PhD in Comparative Lit erature (both from UCLA\, where she received a Distinguished Teaching Assi stant Award and Dissertation Year Fellowship). Irena taught literature and composition at UCLA and Stanford before transitioning to college admissio ns\, college advising\, and writing. Her recently published memoir\, \ ;The Golden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays \;is the winner of the Story Circle Network's Gilda Award\, named in honor of c omedian Gilda Radner to recognize honest\, authentic writing that "makes u s laugh even when we want to cry." It's been described by Forbes as &ldquo \;captivating and smart&hellip\; a potential antidote to the fevered belie f that being admitted to an elite college will spell the difference betwee n a successful life vs. a doomed future.&rdquo\; She has given a TEDx talk on humanizing the college application process and writes about parenting\ , college admissions\, and redefining success in her weekly Substack newsl etter\, \;The Golden Ticket (is not what you think). \;You can als o find her on Substack at \;Personal Statements. \;
\nhttps://n eworleans.libnet.info/event/11078054 URL;VALUE=URI:https://neworleans.libnet.info/event/11078054 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR