Episode description

The past few years have been a whirlwind of confusion and change. Let’s face it - no one knows what is going to happen next. But in all of this adversity, learning about different post-graduation options can help slowly change the unknown into the known. To discuss this post-high school dilemma hosts JW Marshall and Leena Marie Saleh chatted with Betsy Corcoran, the Co-Founder of EdSurge and new founder of Lede Ventures.

As a journalist the majority of her career, Corcoran recognized the value of learning and understood the supportive power of technology. So much so, that she founded EdSurge, a supportive education technology platform. After selling the platform in 2019, Corcoran developed Lede Ventures with a group of women devoted to technology in education.

Corcoran said, “We are going to be doing a lot of consulting and working with other groups to really help support how technology gets used and hopefully, in a way that brings people together, not drives them apart.” Students, especially those who have endured tumultuous times throughout the pandemic, have faced many challenges - some of them ongoing. So, how do graduated high schoolers figure out what the next step is after graduation?

“We’re in weird times. We’re in weird and unprecedented times…We have seen an unprecedented number of options become available to young people,” said Corcoran. Navigating this bridge takes guidance, but there are several options that are available to young learners, including taking a gap year or, as Corcoran put it, “...You can get an apprenticeship, you can go to a boot camp, you can get an internship, and companies have started to think very differently about this world.”

Companies are going through a cycle of how and who to recruit and also figuring out how much they should invest in their employees since retention is often a problem. “...They quit doing all of those training programs and all those retention programs and they do fun things…but this generation is saying something else,” explained Corcoran. She noted that many of the newer generations want companies to know who they are, have open opportunities, be paid well for their work, and have work that is meaningful. As these demands rise, companies are forced to re-evaluate and change to meet the need.

So for recent high school graduates, the question is now: Who is going to help you figure out your next steps after graduation? How do you know whom to trust?