With the first semester coming to a close, measures are being taken to prepare this year’s sophomores for the college journey ahead. The Sophomore Soft Talk, hosted by the Student Council Association (SCA), Deborah Brom and the Potomac Falls Counseling Department is just one of many examples. The talk was held on Jan. 17th at the school auditorium and included guest speakers Cathy Hall from the Northern Virginia Community College, Lauren Wagner from George Mason University, and Carmen Sessions from The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. This talk was aimed at sophomores to better prepare them for the important years ahead, especially junior year.

   “Starting in your junior year, that’s really when colleges start paying attention to how you’re doing,” said Hall.

   The format for this year’s talk was unique.

   “SCA decided to come up with a talk show format to put forth the information,” said senior Jack Taylor, the SCA student liaison.

   The talk show featured two panels: one was a college speaker panel and the other was made up of SCA members. On the school’s auditorium stage, those two panels discussed important topics and lots of advice was given throughout the conversation.

   “We [talked] about the importance of meeting with your counselor- more than just once a year to pick your classes,” said Hall. “We want to help students keep in mind what they need to be doing and how to be proactive with picking their classes. [Students should be] deciding how to find a balance between academic, Advanced Placement (AP) and dual enrollment.”

   Brom advised the student panel on what topics they should discuss with the sophomores. “We want to have the various students [on the panel] talk about what worked for them and how they came up with the balance between the levels of classes that they chose.”

   All this advice, including tips about diploma types, various support resources and creating a balanced schedule were presented to the class.

   After the talk, many students agreed that they benefited from their valuable advice.

   “I thought it was very helpful; it answered quite a few of my questions about which APs I would like to take as well as volunteer opportunities and extracurriculars I might want to get into,” said sophomore Joanna Tan.

    “I’ll probably be taking more consideration into my junior year elective [and] class choices depending on my interests and the career I want to pursue in the future,” said sophomore Mackenzie Greene.

   Sophomore Rhea Agarwal is planning to schedule meetings with her counselor after she learned that it’s an important part of preparing for college.

   “I’m planning on scheduling a meeting with my counselor sometime within the next two weeks to find out her recommendations for what would benefit me the best,” said Agarwal.

   Additionally, when asked about her thoughts on the talk, Agarwal mentioned her favorite piece of advice the panels gave.

   “My favorite piece of advice was when they talked about taking college level classes pertaining to your interests and how important it is to be motivated and determined to succeed.”

   All in all, students are grateful for the Sophomore Soft Talk’s helpful advice, and are now one step closer to a prepared and successful future.

To see the full video of the talk, visit: