Marilee, a popular and dynamic speaker known for her humor and clarity, has made hundreds of presentations across the US and Europe, often to standing ovations.
Marilee Jones Speaks on Creativity, Culture, and Contextualizing College Admissions
“Sometimes it seems as if we’ve lost our minds as a culture. The pursuit of the proper college often starts in preschool now, escalating into educational expectations that decrease playtime and increase academic workloads. By the time they reach high school, students are so busy with schoolwork and activities, they rarely sleep the requisite 9 hours for growing humans and many get by on processed foods that hurt their health.
Constant activity impedes creativity. We are raising a generation of children who don’t have the time or focus to dream, and therefore to create, just when America needs creativity and resourcefulness more than ever.
As a former Dean of Admissions at one of the world’s top universities, I understand the macro ramifications of the way we are raising children.
As a career college admissions officer, I understand how the college process works from the inside. My mission is to bring about a reset, to help administrators and parents value kids’ authenticity and unique potential above achievement for it’s own sake because our nation’s future depends upon it.
In my presentations I teach parents a better way to look at the college admissions process, how to support their children through it, how to create a peaceful home in spite of the stress the process invites. I teach them to fall in love with their child again and to appreciate them for exactly who they are so they can enter the adult world in authenticity and to take their place in a society whose success depends upon all of us. College is not the end game… it is just the next step.”
A Selection of Audiences
Professional Organizations and Conferences
National Association of Independent Schools Headmasters
National Association for College Admissions Counseling
The College Board
Harvard Summer Institute
CASE Europe
American Pediatric Association
Consortium on Financing Higher Education
Corporations/Non-Profits
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Massachusetts General Hospital
Fidelity Investments
Intel Corporation
Coca-Cola Corporation
Community/Parent Organizations
Westport, CT United Way
Parents Together, Greenwich, CT
Atherton, CA parent group
Cohasset, MA parent group
High Schools
Philips Academy, MA
Philips Exeter, NH
Choate Rosemary Hall, CT
Aspen HS, CO
Montclair HS, NJ
Westminster School, GA
The Bush School, WA
Punahou School, HI
Marlborough School, CA
Trinity School, NY
Lake Forest HS, IL
Thomas Jefferson School for Science and Technology, VA
Portsmouth Abbey, RI
Universities
Stressed Out Students (Stanford University)
Harvard Business School
MIT
University of New Hampshire
Mt Holyoke