This program is also being held virtually: https://sclsnj.libnet .info/event/10889208
\nAnother college application season is aro und the corner\, and stress is already beginning to ratchet up for teens a nd their parents. You&rsquo\;re invited to join us for this must-watch tal k by Irena Smith\, PhD. You will hear about constructive and healthy ways to approach the college application process\, preserve your relationship w ith your teen\, and help them define success on their terms instead of cha sing the elusive &ldquo\;golden ticket.&rdquo\;
\nIrena is a former Stanford Admissions Officer who has spent eighteen years advising accompli shed\, tightly wound students in Palo Alto and around the world. She saw f irsthand the extreme measures parents took to help their children gain adm ission to highly selective colleges and the toll it took on the children a s well as on their parents.
\nAt the same time\, Irena&rsquo\;s own children struggled with developmental delays\, learning differences\, seve re depression\, and anxiety. She kept her double life&mdash\;successful co llege counselor at work\, anxious mom at home&mdash\;tightly under wraps f or years until a stunning realization: she was exactly like the anxious pa rents of the students she worked with\, all of whom were equally terrified about \;their \;children's future. Irena&rsquo\;s memoir\, "The G olden Ticket: A Life in College Admissions Essays"\, which candidly explor es her personal as well as professional life\, was published in 2023\, and she has since devoted her time to speaking out about hard things: the hea vy burden of generational expectations\, teen and young adult mental healt h\, and the importance of embracing a broader\, more generous vision of wh at it means to succeed. \;
\nAbout the Author: \;Irena Smith is an author\, former Stanford admissions officer\, independent college c ounselor\, and mother of three extraordinary children. She emigrated from the former Soviet Union with her parents when she was nine years old. In s pite of her fierce insistence that she would never\, not ever\, learn Engl ish\, she went on to earn a BA in English and then a PhD in Comparative Li terature (both from UCLA\, where she received a Distinguished Teaching Ass istant Award and Dissertation Year Fellowship). Irena taught literature an d composition at UCLA and Stanford before transitioning to college admissi ons\, 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 comedian Gilda Radn er to recognize honest\, authentic writing that "makes us 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 belief that being admit ted to an elite college will spell the difference between a successful lif e vs. a doomed future.&rdquo\; \;
\nThis program is brought to y ou in partnership with the Library Speakers Consortium\, which provides ac cess to a range of talks from bestselling authors and thought leaders.
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