Conversations on college access, counseling advocacy and next steps.
Priscilla Grijalva talks with school counselors, administrators and the CEO of the National Association for College Admission Counseling about what gets in students' way after high school, from application fees to FAFSA workarounds. The conversations are friendly and specific, and each one closes on a Michelle Obama line: 'when they go low, we reach higher.'
PRESS PLAY
Reach Higher Riverside! is an interview podcast hosted by Priscilla Grijalva about getting students to their next step after high school, and about the counselors and educators who do that work. The conversations are friendly and plainspoken. What makes them worth hearing is the detail. In 'Ep. 56 Dr. Angel Perez, CEO of NACAC', the head of the National Association for College Admission Counseling talks about the push to simplify both the college application and the FAFSA, and he cites data on complicated forms. Priscilla wonders aloud why students pay to apply to college when nobody pays to apply for a job, and why a fee waiver has to be one more step. 'Ep. 59 The Last Episode' gets closer to the ground. In it, students from mixed-status families get stuck between a FAFSA they already submitted, a Dream application that would not work and Cal Grant deadlines. CSAC gets credit for keeping its guidance current. Counseling as a profession is the other steady subject. 'Ep. 58 Beyond Guidance: Adventures in School Counseling' is a repost, shared with permission, of an interview in which Muna and Maritza of the Beyond Guidance podcast question Priscilla herself. She describes rallying parents, staff and students to share data at school board meetings to keep counselors, and says that work led to a seat on the CASC board. Her interviewers note her recent appointment to the ASCA board of directors. TaRael Kee, an Illinois administrator and the 2021 Illinois School Counselor of the Year, is welcomed back for a second conversation. In one he names the people who encouraged him to lead, his mother among them. In 'Ep. 57 The Kee to Podcasting' he trades notes with Priscilla on making a show. He says a live stream loses its audience when it arrives days after the topic it covers, and admits that being a principal leaves him less time to stream than he would like. A small thread ties Priscilla's story to TaRael's: Trish Hatch turns up in both as someone who pushed them toward a bigger role. Not every guest comes from a school. In 'Ep. 55 Interview with Hair Extension Specialist, Ryan Sanger', Ryan Sanger, who won a regional SkillsUSA competition in high school and went on to compete nationally, describes clients crying when they see the finished result. He also talks about how that confidence carries into their work and relationships. The run is finished. In the final episode Priscilla brings back Dan, who co-hosted during the show's first two years and kept handling audio and video afterward. She also shares news of former student guests, among them her niece Mackenzie, now a New Mexico State University graduate working in politics. For a first listen, the NACAC interview gives the clearest view of the college-access side, while the Beyond Guidance repost shows who is asking the questions.
Made for: Suits a listener who works in school counseling or college access and wants practical talk about financial aid forms and application barriers, along with stories of counselors standing up for their profession.
What sets it apart: Its college-access talk stays close to the paperwork, from FAFSA workarounds to Cal Grant deadlines and application fees. It sets that next to counselor advocacy, a national admissions leader and a guest from well outside education.
A school counselor and AVID Coordinator share Reach Higher stories for educators from all over the nation! We support the Reach Higher Initiative & Better Make Room Campaign.
A FAFSA snag gets the kind of attention you wish every college-bound kid had.
Press play if you want
Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A final reunion turns years of student updates into a warm record of persistence and possibility.
Reach Higher Riverside! closes with the host reuniting with Dan, his co-host from the podcast's first two years and the person who kept handling audio and video behind the scenes.
A school counselor's local fight opens into a grounded case study in professional advocacy.
School counseling comes through as a profession with a public, collective life, not just a role inside one district. Muna Osisioma and Maritza Cha frame Priscilla Grijalva's account around the practical work of defending counselor positions: rallying parents, staff members, and…
Tyrell Key connects podcasting strategy to the practical rhythms of school leadership and creative work.
Priscilla Grijalva's conversation with Tyrell Key frames podcasting as a practical extension of education work, not a side quest detached from it.
A clear, grounded look at how paperwork and admissions policy shape college access.
College access is framed here as a matter of paperwork, policy, and whether students get enough support to complete the process. In Reach Higher Riverside's conversation with Dr.
Ryan Sanger connects an early family introduction to hairstyling with the confidence his hair extension work can give clients.
Ryan Sanger traces his route into hair extensions back to family influence and a professional mannequin head from his aunt when he was seven. The Los Angeles specialist comes across as most compelling when he links that early exposure to a career built around hair, identity, and…
Héctor and Beto dissect Mexican grammar, slang, and news in native-speed Spanish conversations.
Small habit changes meet hands-on AI experiments.
Hope, tested in real conversation.
Everyday English, explained in real conversation.
Practical help for ordinary life friction.
Motivation for the next hard step.
Reach Higher Riverside ends after six years with Priscilla Grijalva bringing back Dan Reyes, the co-host and audio editor who helped launch it.
["Reach Higher Riverside's Ep.
["Tyrell Key says YouTube creators should make 100 crappy videos before chasing perfection, and he ties that advice to Mr.
["Dr.
Reach Higher Riverside interviews Ryan Sanger about how Smith Vocational Agricultural High School helped him become a licensed cosmetologist at 17.
Reach Higher Riverside host Priscilla Grijalva interviews Illinois assistant principal and former 2021 Illinois School Counselor of the Year Tyrell Key about education leadership, service, and his Keys to Success YouTube channel.
Olivia Carter, the 2021 National School Counselor of the Year, describes how Jefferson Elementary's trauma-informed changes reduced office discipline referrals by hundreds.
Reach Higher Riverside's Ep.
Reach Higher Riverside's episode on reading and relationships features Priscilla Grijalva interviewing school counselors and counselor educators from the Equity and Access Anti-Racism Book Club.
Reach Higher Riverside host Priscilla Grijalva interviews Cheryl “Cher” Kratz, a Corona Norco Unified School District counselor with 17 years of counseling experience, about solution-focused counseling.
Reach Higher Riverside!
Anita Shirley, assistant principal at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, describes receiving California Association of School Counselors Administrator of the Year after supporting a district counseling team that grew from about 45 to about 100 counselors.
Jenny Rickard, Common App’s President and CEO, explains how visits to three Tucson schools exposed unequal counseling resources, including one counselor serving 300 to 400 students.
Reach Higher Riverside's episode on the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Students of the Year campaign features host Priscilla Grijalva, Emily Bartlett, and Evelyn Erivez.
Priscilla Grijalva interviews Cindy Jara, Digital Communications Associate for Reach Higher and Better Make Room, about College Signing Day resources for the class of 2021.
Reach Higher Riverside!
Priscilla Grijalva interviews Witty Zahler, creative director at Road Trip Nation, about using documentaries, a free five-lesson course, and the Roadmap podcast for career exploration.
An interview with researchers from the National Student Clearinghouse discussing their work with postsecondary enrollment and completion data.
Dr.
Priscilla Grijalva interviews Bill Dubon, NCAN’s Director of Data and Evaluation, about the fourth-year Form Your Future FAFSA Tracker.
Reach Higher Riverside!
Reach Higher Riverside!
Reach Higher Riverside!
Reach Higher Riverside!
Reach Higher Riverside!
Priscilla Grijalva interviews Natalie Canova and Ilaria Carofiglio about studying abroad in Italy and living through Italy’s 2020 coronavirus shutdown.
School counselors celebrate two students who shared the stage with Michelle Obama at College Signing Day, highlighting their post-graduation plans.