The Truth about "Safety Schools" - Rachelle Hernandez

Rachelle Hernandez, vice provost for student affairs at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, joins the podcast to discuss helping students think about colleges where they will be "excited to go." In addition to her work in higher education over the last 25 years, Rachelle's own son is currently a senior in high school, so this conversation, and the terms often used in college admission, are personal. Rachelle discusses the concept belonging, and focuses on the importance of choices and options for students in their search.  Additionally, she talks about the term "safety" schools and why that label is not accurate, or helpful. She suggests great questions for students and families to ask as they look for good matches in their  college search and selection experience. Rachelle's professional accomplishments are too extensive to capture here, but suffice it to say she brings a wealth of experience, including prior roles at University of Minnesota and University of Texas. She is committed to and focused on student success and access as well as "fostering and supporting an engaged student educational experience and cultivating student connection and belonging in co-curricular and academic spaces." It's always a pleasure to spend time with the inimitable Rachelle Hernandez, so we hope you'll enjoy this one.