The Pickup Meeting

Send us Fan Mail Packing lists, pie plans, and plenty of conference buzz—Kevin and Brody are headed to Oklahoma City for NACADA! Join them for a lively pre-conference catch-up on travel essentials, too many shoes, presenting together for the first time, and the sessions, friends, and food they can’t wait to experience. Then, they dive into a big question for higher ed: how can we communicate with...

Send us Fan Mail Packing lists, pie plans, and plenty of conference buzz—Kevin and Brody are headed to Oklahoma City for NACADA! Join them for a lively pre-conference catch-up on travel essentials, too many shoes, presenting together for the first time, and the sessions, friends, and food they can’t wait to experience. Then, they dive into a big question for higher ed: how can we communicate with...

Send us Fan Mail What does it really mean to be “undecided”? This week, we’re joined by David Spight of UC Irvine to challenge the myths around major exploration, unpack why choosing a major is about far more than picking a label, and explore how advisors can help students build meaningful educational narratives. We also dig into the future of advisor training, the real-world skills emerging advis...

Send us Fan Mail The Pickup Meeting hits episode 50! Kevin and Brody celebrate the milestone with bold NFL and college football predictions, including a few potentially regrettable hot takes. Then they dig into higher ed’s implementation fatigue—why constant new tools and policies can wear teams down, and what thoughtful leadership can do about it. To wrap it up, they share the vehicles they’ve lo...

Send us Fan Mail What do NFL uniforms, graphic design, AI, and multimillion-dollar philanthropy have in common? More than you’d think. In this episode of The Pickup Meeting , Brody and Kevin sit down with Chandler Vandenberg , Senior Director of Development for Principal Gifts at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, to talk about the art—and science—of building...

Send us Fan Mail What do frozen chips, shrinking wardrobes, higher ed leadership, and a heated color draft have in common? Somehow, they all make perfect sense in this episode of The Pickup Meeting . Kevin and Brody kick things off with some real-life wardrobe struggles, Kevin’s 111-pound weight-loss journey, and the surprisingly controversial suggestion that chips belong in the freezer . From the...

Send us Fan Mail What do advising strategy, data-driven decisions, leadership, jazz, Fortnite, and baking have in common? Somehow, they all make their way into this episode of The Pickup Meeting . Kevin Thomas and Michael “Brody” Broshears sit down with Stephanie Kraft-Terry , newly named Director of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, for a conversation that’s equal...

Send us Fan Mail What do Trapper Keepers, 250 years of American history, chain restaurants, and the future of higher education have in common? Somehow, they all made it into this episode of The Pickup Meeting . Kevin and Brody sit down with Dr. Aaron Brown , Executive Vice President of the Council for Opportunity in Education, for a conversation about why higher education still matters—and why its...

Send us Fan Mail The Pickup Meeting officially turns ONE! 🎉 Kevin and Brody are celebrating a full year behind the microphones with a special “just us” episode—looking back at how two friends’ phone conversations somehow became an actual podcast people actually listen to. They revisit the guests and stories that stuck with them, the lessons that have made their way into their work in higher educa...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the Resident Assistant you hired 20 years ago becomes one of higher education's most respected student affairs leaders? This week, Kevin and Brody welcome Dr. Joe Thomas , Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Life at the University of Colorado Boulder and former NODA President. Together, they dive into what it really takes to help students succeed—fr...

Send us Fan Mail It's another "Just Us" episode, and that means anything can happen! Kevin and Brody kick things off by reminiscing about back-to-school shopping, Trapper Keepers, NFL pencils, thermostat battles, surviving the summer heat, and the simple joys (or frustrations) of keeping a lawn alive. They also wrap things up with their latest Top 3 list, sharing the states they sti...

Send us Fan Mail What do community choirs, national parks, student success, chocolate bundt cake, and hidden restaurant menu items have in common? Somehow...they all end up in this episode! Kevin and Brody kick things off by celebrating a major podcast milestone, debating household chores, sharing the hobbies that bring them joy, and wondering why a certain baby cries every time Brody starts talki...

Send us Fan Mail Summer may be the "slow season" on campus, but Kevin and Brody know that's when some of the biggest conversations happen. In this Just Us episode, they swap stories about out-of-office replies, overpriced concerts, World Cup fever, and the quirky things international visitors are discovering about America before diving into a thoughtful discussion about one of highe...

Send us Fan Mail What do wallets, walk-up songs, learning to drive a stick shift, and enrollment management have in common? More than you'd think. This week on The Pickup Meeting , Kevin and Brody welcome Karen Archambault , Senior Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success at Rowan College at Burlington County , for a conversation packed with practical leadership wisdom, st...

Send us Fan Mail Brody Broshears and Kevin Thomas are back with another lively pickup meeting, diving into World Cup excitement, summer in higher education, and why soccer has one of the most confusing rules in sports. They also tackle the future of developmental education, explore how co-requisite support is transforming student success, and wrap up with a spirited debate over the worst fast-food...

Send us Fan Mail Leadership, laughter, and a little Dairy Queen debate? This episode has it all. Dr. Beth Lesen joins The Pickup Meeting to share how trust, compassion, and authentic leadership can transform campus culture, support first-generation students, and inspire teams to do their best work. From rebuilding divisions and leading through crisis to career coaching, financial wellness, and the...

Send us Fan Mail This week, the rails were more of a suggestion than a destination. Kevin celebrates his 46th birthday while Brody shares his philosophy that every birthday is worth celebrating. Along the way, the conversation veers into unexpected territory: the disappearance of neckties, the quest for the perfect joggers, movie theater etiquette (put the phone away!), and whether theaters are de...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when adult learners, online education, micro-credentials, baseball parks, and “other duties as assigned” all walk into one podcast episode? You get a lively conversation with Dr. Katie Dawson , Associate Vice President for Enrollment, Innovation, and Talent Strategy for the University of Louisiana System. Katie joins Kevin and Brody to talk about Compete Louisiana , a...

Send us Fan Mail Michael “Brody” Broshears and Kevin Thomas revisit Saturday morning cartoons, video games, hockey debates, and conversations that shaped their early years. They then turn to higher education, challenging the assumption that conferences are the primary form of professional development and highlighting creative, practical ways educators and administrators continue to grow without tr...

Send us Fan Mail Brody and Kevin sit down with W. Kent Barnds , Executive Vice President for Strategy and Innovation at Augustana College, for a conversation that zigzags from enrollment strategy to storytelling, from FAFSA frustrations to liberal arts value, and from Nebraska football loyalty to why innovation in higher ed is less about shiny new toys and more about smart combinations that actual...

Send us Fan Mail May is doing May things: inboxes are chirping, calendars are packed, batteries are blinking red, and somehow Brody is recording while standing up. In this “Just Us” episode of The Pickup Meeting , Brody and Kevin celebrate a major milestone, unpack the weird little work habits that make us all twitch, and dig into why academic and career advising should stop living in separate sil...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Clint-Michael Reneau joins The Pickup Meeting for thought-provoking and wildly quotable conversation about leadership, belonging, vulnerability, and the real work of student success. As Vice President for Student Affairs at Northern Illinois University, Clint-Michael reminds us that belonging does not happen by accident, care is not soft, and student success is not a program,...

Send us Fan Mail Summer may look quiet on campus, but higher ed folks know better. In this episode of The Pickup Meeting , Kevin and Brody dig into the myth of the “easy summer,” swap thoughts on orientation season, and reflect on the impact of the Adventures in Advising podcast as it heads toward its final episodes. They also tackle a timely question from higher ed: are students being asked to re...

Send us Fan Mail From Record Store Day lines to baseball nostalgia to teaching that truly transforms, this episode of The Pickup Meeting has a little bit of everything. Kevin and Brody welcome Dr. Emily Jones of Illinois State University for a lively conversation about student learning, faculty growth, leadership, teamwork, and what it really means to help students feel seen. Along the way, they s...

Send us Fan Mail In this “Just Us” episode of The Pickup Meeting , Kevin and Brody bounce from Earth Day to Record Store Day to the very real question of how higher ed professionals survive the end-of-semester whirlwind. Along the way, they swap stories about walkable communities, vinyl lines at dawn, pin collecting, burnout, balance, and why staff sustainability deserves a bigger spotlight. It is...