College & Career Readiness Radio

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Corey Koopmans, founder of InternCrew. Corey says workers' compensation, liability, age restrictions, payroll requirements, and administrative responsibilities can all become barriers for employers interested in hiring high school interns. According to Koopmans, large companies present an additional challenge. A local office may...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Nathan McNeely, CTE Director at Grant Regional Career Center in Marion, Indiana. Nate defines size as being about access —whether enough students and schools have access to CTE programs that align with student interest and labor-market demand. He explains that scope is about opportunity . Programs should reflect local needs whil...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Tony Dina, founder of Crucial Canvas . Tony says people often overlook their own “superpowers” because the things that come naturally to them may not feel particularly special. He encourages students to identify behaviors others consistently recognize in them, rehearse how those strengths might show up in different situations, a...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Dr. Heather Handler, author of The Educator’s Guide to Youth Apprenticeships . Heather says youth apprenticeships allow students to “test the waters” of a career while getting paid, developing skills, and avoiding the financial risk of pursuing a pathway they may not ultimately enjoy. She explains that youth apprenticeships shou...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Thomas O’Brien, author of Empowering All Leaders to be Math Leaders . Thomas tells listeners that the biggest challenge in mathematics isn't teaching content—it's helping students apply math confidently beyond the classroom. He explains that students often develop hidden learning gaps that aren't discovered until years later whe...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Dr. Cynthia Thomas, work-based learning program coordinator and CTE consultant in higher education. Dr. Thomas says career readiness instruction should be personalized just as intentionally as technical skill instruction. She explains that students retain learning more effectively when instruction is connected to their lived exp...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Jeremy Smith, workforce development innovator and college reform advocate. Jeremy says the debate about college shouldn't be whether it's good or bad, but whether it's delivering the right education to the right students at the right time and price. He argues that higher education is increasingly out of sync with employers, leav...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Dr. Sandra Adams, a nationally recognized CTE leader, author, and advocate for high-quality career and technical education who focuses on expanding opportunity, literacy, and workforce readiness for students. Dr. Adams begins by saying that possibility thinking is about reimagining teaching so students connect with supportive pe...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Joshua Stamper, author of The Language of Behavior . Josh says that student behavior should be read as communication, not just defiance, because students often signal unmet needs, stress, or trauma through what they do in class. He explains that many behavior issues start when students are in survival mode, which makes it hard f...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Frank Polen, assistant superintendent and director of adult education at the Buckeye Career Center in Ohio. Frank explains that Buckeye Career Center is a joint vocational school district and a career technical planning district serving 11 partner schools across three counties. Students can complete academics and career-technica...

In this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio , Dr. TJ Vari sits down with Marlon Styles to discuss how schools can build stronger connections between students, business partners, and future careers. Marlon shares how his district reimagined career exploration through the Ready Now 100 initiative and why early, meaningful exposure matters for every student. Marlon explains that the work...

Dr. Osheroff says that career development should begin as soon as students arrive at college, not in their final year, because early engagement helps them build confidence, find opportunities, and avoid missing out on internships or other high-impact experiences. He explains that his office at the University of Southern Maine uses peer career guides to create a low-pressure first step for students...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Dr. Mark Covelle, Administrative Director of Middle Bucks Institute of Technology and a Founding Member of the CTE Collective. Mark says that interest in CTE has surged post-COVID because hands-on, authentic learning could not be replicated online. The skilled trades gap has added further momentum nationally. He notes that in CT...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is fourth-generation educator, coach, and multiple-time best-selling author Chip Baker. Chip is the creator of The Success Chronicles , a YouTube channel and podcast where he interviews people from all walks of life about what it truly takes to be successful in life. Drawing from thousands of these conversations, Chip and host Dr....

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is best-selling author of Careers By the People , Mike Wysocki. Mike Wysocki discusses how his own career path shaped his focus on career readiness. As a first-generation, low-income student, his early goal was simply to go to college and get a job in business. After graduating, he found the experience underwhelming and unfulfillin...

This episode of College & Career Readiness Radio features our guest Patrick Jones, an experienced educator, business leader, and expert in career readiness. Patrick argues that the “internship shortage” is really a systems problem rooted in how higher education and K-12 interface with employers, not a lack of student interest or talent. He explains the friction employers face—especially smalle...

This episode of College and Career Readiness Radio features Kim Gameroz , founder of Teaching Inside Out and SELbrate Good Times. Kim defines SEL as intentionally teaching students how the social world works so they can function successfully in life and work, rather than assuming they already possess these skills. She emphasizes cognitive flexibility (shifting when things do not go a student’s way...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Brian Johnson. Brian explains why simply “placing kids” isn’t enough and why districts must define clear quality criteria so work-based learning experiences are aligned, mentored, and meaningful. He shares the six basic characteristics he uses to vet opportunities: minimum hours, alignment to a student’s pathway of study, a prof...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Jan Jardine. Jan Jardine explains how work-based learning helps students connect classroom learning with real-world careers through internships, apprenticeships, and CAPS-style industry projects, often revealing both what students love and what is not a good fit before they invest in postsecondary education. She describes how CA...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Thomas Murray. Tom Murray says that strong leadership is the foundation of any innovative, student‑centered district and that every major initiative will rise and fall with the quality of its leaders.​ Tom explains that the best leaders are learners who empower others, adapt, delegate to build capacity, engage their communities,...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Brandon Busteed. Brandon says that work-integrated learning connects traditional academic study with learning that happens on the job and includes not only internships, but also co-ops, apprenticeships, job shadowing, and long-term classroom projects designed with industry input.​ Brandon points out that internships are a game c...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Alisa Morse, K12 Director for the CAPS Network. Alisa Morse explains the concept of “profession-based learning” as an umbrella term for connecting students with real-world industry experiences, including internships, co-ops, client-connected projects, and career discovery.​ She highlights that high-impact client-connected projec...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Scott Carr from CESA2 in Wisconsin. Scott specializes in connecting academic learning with real-world applications through career and community readiness frameworks.​ He emphasizes that lasting change in education starts with shifting mindsets and moving away from compliance-based systems to a re-culturing process focused on pur...

Our guests for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio are Dr. Steve Regur and Ed Hidalgo from connectthework.com . Ed Hidalgo emphasizes the importance of giving students agency in their academic and career planning, focusing on self-discovery and personal strengths. Steve Regur discusses strategies for fostering student empowerment, including the use of personalized learning plans a...

Our guest for this episode of College & Career Readiness Radio is Raymond Thiry from Access ASU. Ray highlights the complex requirements for college eligibility—such as 16 core required courses and a minimum GPA—that often differ from state high school graduation requirements. Without monitoring these, many students miss out on university options they are close to qualifying for. Ray notes tha...