154. March Madness and School Counseling
From Counselor Chat Podcast by Carol Miller, School Counselor
March 18, 2026 · 12 min · Episode 154
About this episode
In this episode, Carol Miller discusses how to leverage the excitement of March Madness to create engaging college and career exploration activities for students.
154. March Madness and School Counseling March Madness already brings energy into our school buildings. Students are talking about brackets. There’s excitement. Competition. Predictions about who will win. In this episode, I share how I take that same excitement and turn it into a college and career exploration experience that students find engaging and meaningful. Because if there’s one thing I want students to feel about their futures, it’s this: I want their future to feel exciting , not overwhelming. So instead of basketball teams… I create a Future Bracket Challenge . As I tell my students during this lesson: “What if your future had its own bracket?” What if colleges competed for you? What if careers battled it out? And what if you got to decide what makes it to your Final Four ? In This Episode • How to turn March Madness energy into meaningful college and career exploration • The College Research Pennant Project and how it makes research feel celebratory instead of overwhelming • The Career Research Pennant Project that helps students connect education pathways to real careers • A Career Cluster Bracket Challenge that encourages critical thinking and reflection • A Sweet…
People in this episode
Host: Carol Miller
Topics covered
- March Madness
- school counseling
- college exploration
- career exploration
- student engagement
- future planning
Keywords
- March Madness
- college exploration
- career exploration
- Future Bracket Challenge
- Career Cluster Bracket Challenge
- skills bracket
- student engagement
- school counseling
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