Beyond Akeela was recently invited to give the keynote speech at an upcoming post-secondary transition fair this spring. We’re proud to be recognized as a leader in the college transition for neurodivergent students! When thinking about what to share with the students, we felt the most value we could provide was to share stories from our extensive network of Beyond Akeela alumni. We have alumni enrolled in a wide variety of college programs who are experiencing the college transition at various stages now.
So we reached out to our alumni to have conversations with them about what it’s really like to transition from high school to college. We feel so fortunate and proud to have an alumni base eager to share their stories. It was really enjoyable to catch up with them and hear about their triumphs and challenges, and certainly made us proud to do the work we do! Below are a few interesting takeaways we took from our conversations with alumni:
The post-secondary experience is not linear
Every alum we spoke with shared a story about a challenge or change of plans they faced in college or a gap program. Some changed majors after realizing their passion wasn’t their initial major. Others shared stories about setbacks they faced in classes. They all recognized a change in their path forward was necessary, and figured out what they needed to do to address situation. We have some resilient alumni!
Changing course at some point in your college career is more the norm than you may think.
There are more opportunities to find your people in college
… and you have to put yourself out there to take advantage of them! With a plethora of clubs/activities and time around consistent peers in major-related courses, our alum have found it generally easier to find their social footing in college or a gap program compared to high school. They also recognized it takes time to build a friend group from scratch, and the timeline for everyone to feel socially comfortable was different.
Making friends in college won’t happen overnight, but taking some positive social risks will take you far.
Time management is crucial
… and you can get help to master it! All our alum echoed the same message: Managing unstructured time is the biggest difference between high school and college, and a key ingredient to college success. They also all shared their strategies for managing time in college, and many shared that they seek out support for it in college through advisors and mentors.
Develop an understanding of your ability to big chunks of unstructured time. How can others support you in this effort?
Beyond Akeela alumni are awesome
Our biggest takeaway, by far, is how amazing, resilient, and motivated Beyond Akeela alumni are. We were so happy to hear them talk with pride about their experiences in college. We are so lucky to be part of their lives in some capacity, and support their college transition journey.
