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What happens when you mix student success, Disney debates, video game nostalgia, and one of the most respected advising professionals in the field? You get an episode that’s both fun and full of substance.

Kevin and Brody sit down with Tyler Phelps, Assistant Dean of Advising at Washington University in St. Louis, to unpack what truly helps students thrive: authentic presence, listening beyond the obvious, community among practitioners, and a strengths-based approach when plans fall apart. Tyler talks about the “magic” of advising, how technology can support (but never replace) human connection, and what higher ed owes students in a world that’s side-eyeing the value of a degree.

*The Pickup Meeting is a spinoff of the Adventures in Advising podcast!

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Have a question? Want to chat? E-mail us at thepickupmeeting@gmail.com!

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March has arrived, and with it comes fake spring, real allergies, bracket dreams, and that annual daylight savings debate we all pretend will be resolved someday. In this "Just Us" episode, Kevin and Brody pull back the curtain on public speaking, storytelling, and why even seasoned presenters still get butterflies. Spoiler alert: the nerves never really leave, they just learn how to behave.

Along the way, they debate what makes a keynote soar or sink, share their rituals for surviving presentations, and confess to some truly vintage first music purchases. It’s higher ed meets March Madness meets mixtape memories.

*The Pickup Meeting is a spinoff of the Adventures in Advising podcast!

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook! Also, subscribe to the Adventures in Advising YouTube Channel!

Have a question? Want to chat? E-mail us at thepickupmeeting@gmail.com!

Connect with Brody and Kevin on LinkedIn.

Send a text

Kevin and Brody welcome Jerel Benton, Assistant Provost for Student Success at Radford University, for a conversation that travels from the tutoring rooms to the leadership table. Along the way, Jerel shares how a nursing major became a student success leader, why empathy is not the same thing as softness, and how consensus can sometimes slow progress instead of strengthen it.

They dive into the mentors who quietly change the trajectory of our careers, building trust as a new leader (care, reliability, competence, sincerity), why relationships and culture of care are universal truths in higher ed, what it really takes to lead student success work without burning out, and yes, a spirited Kentucky vs. Indiana basketball detour.

*The Pickup Meeting is a spinoff of the Adventures in Advising podcast!

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook! Also, subscribe to the Adventures in Advising YouTube Channel!

Have a question? Want to chat? E-mail us at thepickupmeeting@gmail.com!

Connect with Brody and Kevin on LinkedIn.