The Pickup Meeting

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...

Send us Fan Mail Kevin and Brody are back to chat with Dr. Kyser Lough, Associate Professor and Director of the News Literacy Certificate Program at the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Kyser discusses being a photojournalist turned scholar, bringing a rare practitioner's lens to questions about how news images shape public perception, what solu...

Send us Fan Mail Kevin Thomas and Brody Broshears reflect on the energy and renewal that spring brings before exploring the complex and timely topic of graduation. Their conversation examines graduation rates, institutional responsibility, and the policies and practices that support student persistence and success as they work toward completing their degrees.  * The Pickup Meeting is a spinoff of...

Send us Fan Mail From March Madness hot takes and overrated things to FERPA, advising, and finding balance in higher ed life, this episode of The Pickup Meeting has a little bit of everything. Kevin and Brody welcome Dr. Rebecca Hapes, Associate Registrar at Texas A&M University, for a lively conversation about her journey from academic advising to the registrar’s office, the hidden complexity...

Send us Fan Mail What if faculty are the secret sauce in student success? In this episode of The Pickup Meeting , Kevin and Brody kick things off with sports hot takes, Olympics nostalgia, and the kind of job stories that include delivering newspapers in the 80s and bringing “sports salvation to the airwaves.” This conversation unpacks why great teaching is not just about content delivery but conn...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you mix student success, Disney debates, video game nostalgia, and one of the most respected advising professionals in the field? You get an episode that’s both fun and full of substance.  Kevin and Brody sit down with Tyler Phelps , Assistant Dean of Advising at Washington University in St. Louis, to unpack what truly helps students thrive: authentic presence, l...

Send us Fan Mail March has arrived, and with it comes fake spring, real allergies, bracket dreams, and that annual daylight savings debate we all pretend will be resolved someday. In this "Just Us" episode, Kevin and Brody pull back the curtain on public speaking, storytelling, and why even seasoned presenters still get butterflies. Spoiler alert: the nerves never really leave, they just...

Send us Fan Mail Kevin and Brody welcome Jerel Benton, Assistant Provost for Student Success at Radford University, for a conversation that travels from the tutoring rooms to the leadership table. Along the way, Jerel shares how a nursing major became a student success leader, why empathy is not the same thing as softness, and how consensus can sometimes slow progress instead of strengthen it. The...

Send us Fan Mail Winter is (almost) over, spring break is playing hard to get, and The Pickup Meeting is back with a classic “Just Us” episode. Brody and Kevin kick things off with birthday gauntlets, daylight savings time grievances, and a spirited debate over the Winter Olympics. Speed skating? Hockey? Iconic.  What does it really mean to lead when leadership isn’t popular? How do you make tough...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Pickup Meeting , Brody and Kevin welcome Cecilia Olivares , Director of Academic Advising Initiatives at the University of Missouri and former NACADA President, for a conversation that zigzags delightfully from Easter candy to change management to the existential question of academic advising itself. Fresh off the Administrators Institute, the trio dives int...

Send us Fan Mail In this Just Us edition of The Pickup Meeting , Kevin Thomas and Michael “Brody” Broshears settle into a wide-ranging conversation that feels like one of their regular phone calls. From the many ways we mispronounce February and other deeply suspicious English words, to Valentine’s Day nostalgia, chalky candy hearts, and why umbrellas are wildly overrated, this episode leans into...

Send us Fan Mail This episode of The Pickup Meeting kicks off with peak banter, including an impossible Indiana football season, shared indifference toward cars, and the kind of sports fandom that only comes once in a lifetime. Kevin and Brody then welcome an incredible guest, Jennifer Markin , Director of Advising at Henry Ford College, who brings warmth, humor, and deep insight into advising, le...

Send us Fan Mail This week on The Pickup Meeting , Brody and Kevin ditch the guest list and settle into a classic J ust Us episode. Think less polished panel, more honest phone call between two friends who’ve seen a few semesters, a few campuses, and more than a few questionable comfort foods. The conversation wanders joyfully through first-week-of-college memories, accidental class enrollment dis...

Send us Fan Mail 🎙️ From Mascot Suits to Dean’s Office: Say Yes (and Hold On) This episode of The Pickup Meeting is a full-tilt ride with Rodney Mondor , Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at the University of Southern Maine. Rodney’s career journey zigzags through academic advising, orientation, student affairs leadership, crisis response, Greek life, career service...