Connect, Collaborate and Learn

Jackie and Jen here! Thank you to Kristen for allowing us to guest blog this week and share our experience planning our staff retreat. As a company that works primarily with families and each other remotely, Campus Bound understands the deep, sustained connection that can be made in an online setting one on one. We routinely train, participate in professional development, and meet with a variety of admissions offices across the country virtually throughout the year. 

While our team is comfortable collaborating in an online environment, recently we braved the snow to gather as a team at Babson College on a Saturday for a full-day retreat. We met with industry partners, participated in team building exercises, and just enjoyed each other’s company. Summit Educational Group, a test prep and tutoring organization, described in great detail how the College Board’s new digital SAT will be different from the older versions of that test. (Sophomores: Be prepared to hear more about this in the coming months!)

Engaging Minds, a company that works with students of all ages to help them learn how to learn and become confident in their academic abilities, offered us an important window into how students experience their education today and gave us a variety of strategies that will be helpful to our students as they explore colleges and develop confidence in their choices.

We were able to listen to an illuminating presentation by a Babson College student, too. And, of course, we collaborated with one another, learning and sharing our ideas and knowledge on topics ranging from essay brainstorming and development to financial aid and merit scholarships. 

The college admission landscape is in a state of constant change, but Campus Bound counselors and essay specialists participate in consistent learning opportunities to be steady, informed guides. Our day connecting as a team, sharing our collective wisdom, learning from our partners and our host college, and exploring ways to better serve our students was invigorating, enlightening, and purposeful. Together, we were able to focus fully on the most important members of the Campus Bound community: the families we guide.