My unexpected journey as a zoom host

How did it start:

August 14th 2023 morning 9 AM, impulsively created a WhatsApp group with the intention of providing college preparation support to high school parents. That Summer around 6 people called me to know about the college application process as my older one was about to start her college journey. And I felt that having parents and students to share their experiences with the other high school parents would be a great idea.

Support:

Posted about this in our neighborhood group and I got around 50 responses on the same day. Excited and elated. There was no structure on how I wanted to do this. Approached couple of parents and students and they were willing to share their journey. The zoom sessions were going well and word of mouth more parents joined. Along with parents/students’ journey, I found some college counselors who were willing to do presentations for our group. I added couple of therapists presentations on Teen mental health. As a life coach I did a session on communication with teens. From last August until June29th 2024 I hosted 30 sessions.

My Observations:

1. I enjoy the process of finding people to do the presentations for our group.

2. Hearing "No" from any presenter doesn't bother me.

3. I expected 100% presence during the sessions and the low numbers frustrated me because of the effort I put in. Over a period of time, I learned not to be thankful for those who showed up. My sessions are on weekends so parents and students are busy with their own schedules/classes. And I am not the only resource out there for them.

4. I enjoy connecting with people and sharing my knowledge/wisdom.

Recently I asked in my group for feedback on these sessions to revisit the purpose/vision of this group. I got overwhelmingly positive responses. Parents have been finding the sessions valuable and unique. Hearing from parents and students who went through the experience helped others to understand the application process better.

Almost after a year, the sessions are going great. Happy to her parents are feeling less stressful-mission accomplished. (https://www.tlcs.life/post/college-prep-support-group-parent-testimonials)

Hoping for another successful year of sessions ahead.

The purpose of the group is to reduce stress for parents and also for parents to see life beyond the college. Life doesn't end with getting into a great college or a great major. Along with college application process, I hope parents focus on teaching life skills and emotional regulation to their kids. Can they manage their work on their own in college? Can they take care of laundry and other self-care? Can they go to store on their own and buy the items they need? Can they budget their savings/expenses right? When the focus for the 4 years of high school is on getting into a better college, will there be enough space for parents and children to focus on these vital skills? I strongly feel that its our responsibility to teach them the right social skills along with academic success preparation.