What’s next on the calendar for all colleges and universities? VOTING! If you lived through 2020 and even 2016, you know what’s coming, and students are probably increasingly aware of it too. Join Mindy and Leslie and their two student guests for a discussion of civic engagement on campus and what parents should know in supporting their students’ transition into adulthood with their first election as voters. Join us for a non-partisan discussion with Zoë Jenkins from University of Virginia and Jonah Zacks (yes that Jonah) from Washington University in a discussion about what to expect this election cycle on campus, how your students should prepare and what are some basic things parents should know to ensure their students take advantage of their opportunity to make their voices heard.

Zoë and Jonah are both civically engaged organizers on their campuses with long resumes that involve campaign work, policy research, community organizing, voting engagement and reform and others. Since 2019 they have been active partners as fellows with Civics Unplugged initiative (https://www.civicsunplugged.org/) which is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to help young people learn the skills necessary to develop innovative solutions to society’s biggest challenges. Like their colleagues from, CU they are passionate about bringing change, data, action and engagement to their campuses as a way to encourage discourse, collaboration, common ground and activism.

Parents- we need some COACHING! Watching a college student flop around from afar is going to give

every parent feelings, but guess what- we parents are flopping around too. And Mindy and Leslie are no

better than anyone else in this regard.

Join us for a discussion with therapist Kara Friedman who specializes is working with teens and their

families during this dynamic time in our lives. This week, Kara will bring some incredible insider

information directly from some the mouths of her teen clients. By asking them “what do you want your

parents to know about your college experience?” she will help us decode what is going on inside the

brains of our students at a distance.

Kara Friedman is a Licensed Professional Counselor who helps teens and women struggling with anxiety

feel calm and confident when life is "out of control." With more than twenty years of experience, she's

seen her clients learn new coping skills, make fundamental changes and have long-lasting results. Kara

can be found at www.karafriedmancounseling.com.

Mindy and Leslie dive into Season 3 with a summer recap and by setting the stage for the next round of Parent Page Podcast episodes for the fall. Now that everyone is safely on board at their colleges and universities it is time to flip the page to the next big moment on the calendar for new college parents: Parents and Family Weekend. As with everything, this is usually one of the first trips back for college parents, and it comes with some unexpected complications and things to consider. Come get your expectations appropriately set as Mindy and Leslie welcome a fellow college parent to a discussion around what parents weekend is, what it isn’t, and how to avoid messing the whole thing up.

This week’s episode comes with all the disclaimers we can drum up. Monthly budgets are extremely student-specific and highly dependent upon the financial situation of each family. There is no one size fits all approach to this one except in the planning. Every students would benefit from a frank conversation during these summer months about the plan for a monthly budget for items outside the tuition/books/housing sphere. Whether it is a discussion about what is and is NOT on the list of things they can expect support with, or just the exercise of planning for how to afford the basics completely on their own, a parents job is to help them think it through now while they are still at home. Join Mindy and Leslie as they navigate this topic with the help of CPA and fellow battle-tested college parent Karen Smoller. Let Karen’s personal and professional experience can help you leap-frog a number of questions and wrong turns as you work through your mental check list of things to stress out about.

Karen Smoller is mom to two recent college graduates and a CPA at a national accounting firm with over 30 years of experience in money management. I mean honestly, who better to take this advice from.

Now that Indecision April is over, Parent, it’s time to start your engines: you have three full months before many of us have to pack ‘em up and move ‘em out, and there are boxes that need to be checked. One of the most critical issues to deal with is the transitioning of your new adult into quagmire known as the American Health Care System, and supporting them as they look to move away from pediatric to adult care. It is critical to have a plan BEFORE you need a plan because NEWS FLASH: your child’s doctor at home won’t, in most cases, be much help. Join Mindy and Leslie as they interview Dr. Steve Brown, Family Physician, faculty member at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix, and fellow college parent, as they work through the critical steps parents and students can take together to create a plan and be prepared and the start their college careers.

Indecision April 2022 is coming to a close and the college bound new adults are closing in on their final decision around where to attend college. A lucky few may have been sitting on this last stage of their college admission process for months having hit the jackpot with their Early Decision application. Either way, there is always room for some unexpected second guessing and Buyer’s Remorse on the part of your student when the reality of their decision, and those of their friends around them, starts to sink in. What’s this 11th hour anxiety really all about and how can we, as parents, help coach them through it and get them safely launched? Good friend of the Pod Kelly Jorgensen, College Counselor to uncounted grateful students the world over returns to our podcasting basement for a frank discussion around this last little hill in the roller coaster and reassuring words of advice on how to weather it.

In our final episode of Season 1, Mindy and Leslie spend time with Dr. Andy Pomerantz, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist who works with adult, teen, and child clients on a variety of psychological disorders and such issues as self-esteem, personal growth, relationships, and adjustment. As your student prepares to leave the nest there is so much that is hard and anxiety provoking about this time in your family, but Andy will help everyone understand what’s normal and what might need attention. There is also an opportunity learn more about the transition of mental health responsibility to your student, and what resources might be available on campus to support them.

Dr. Pomerantz can be found at www.psychotherapysaintlouis.org