“How Are You Doing Today?”: MHS counseling podcast gives students an opportunity to hear from professional speakers
Counselors are excited to spread the word about their new podcast that features guest speakers, mental health advice, and more
The counseling office at Mead High School has a lot of resources for students looking to find scholarships.
The Mead High Counseling Department officially has its own podcast available on all major media platforms, according to an email sent out on Wednesday, April 21. It is titled, “How Are You Doing Today?” and is meant to highlight professionals who speak to the student experience.
The episodes are accessible to not just the district— but also the whole globe. In an interview with some Mead’s counseling department, they found that there was even someone from Ireland who listened in. There were about 15 episodes out around the time that the April update was sent.
Before COVID, the counselors would host career speaker events. COVID pushed them to create a podcast that could act in that way.
“How Are You Doing Today?” gives students and parents a way to connect with career experts, college professionals, and emotional experts that can be accessed at any time.
“This gives students another outlet to hear about colleges in a different format,” said counselor Maura Brady-McMullen.
Before the podcast, the counselors would bring career specialists into the building during lunch. Lower numbers of students came to these speaker events, so free lunch became an offered bonus later on.
When COVID began to spread and school buildings were closed, counselors came up with the podcast.
Counselor Anthony Elliot said, “We felt like the podcast could reach more students because they could listen to it whenever and wherever. Even their parents could say ‘Hey, why don’t you listen to this one about CSU!’”
The episodes are often brief (less than 30 minutes), so they are easy to listen to at different parts of the day.
Counselor Courtney Howe also added, “With not being able to go on [a college] campus, it is really a quick way for students to learn about different colleges and universities without having to go there.” Many college tours were shut down due to the pandemic, so it may be difficult to find the needed information when deciding where to go after high school. These podcast episodes can be a great option.
Not all the episodes are about college. An episode with Ms. Howe’s brother was recorded around the time that the email was sent out. This includes some insights on how to run a cooking company. Howe’s brother owns one in Ohio, so he has lots of experience with this topic.
Another episode that was recorded involves a veterinarian who talks about her career on the show. Some of the topics are about careers that some students wouldn’t know a lot of information about otherwise, if it weren’t for the podcast.
Counselor and interventionist, Pedro Lindsenmeyer has also talked to mental health partners about anxiety and how to deal with stress in the high school life setting. These episodes will mostly involve topics that adhere to the counseling setting.
The easily accessible podcast, “How Are You Doing?” gives students great opportunities to explore wellness and future goals for after high school.
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Skylar Whalen is a senior. She is this year's editor-in-chief. Skylar enjoys painting, singing, and playing softball. She is a huge animal lover and works with dogs outside of school. Skylar plays competitive softball and hopes to play in college. She is excited to help other writers succeed and grow. Skylar can’t wait to work with new people and produce engaging stories for the community around her. She also enjoys having the excuse to write about herself in third person and make her seem interesting.
Candy Berkenkotter • Apr 30, 2021 at 2:09 pm
Good information, I’m sure not a lot of students are aware of . Hopefully, the podcasts will be helpful to students . Kudos to the counselling department.