601: Roles and Identities Part 1 (for Students and Parents): A Framework for Exploring Who You’ve Been, Who You Are, and Who You’re Becoming
Mar 4, 2025
Discover a new framework for self-exploration in the college admissions journey! Learn about the Roles and Identities List, which encourages students to identify their unique traits like 'catalyst' and 'change-maker.' Engage with practical exercises designed for high schoolers to help plan their activities and applications. Parents also get a chance to reflect on their roles in this process, fostering a collaborative environment. Stay tuned for more insights that support both students and educators!
28:48
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Roles and Identities Framework
We have many roles and identities, not just one.
These roles are complex, nuanced, and constantly developing based on our experiences.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Identifying Your Roles
Choose 10 roles you identify with, then narrow it down to your top 5.
Describe two ways each role shows up in your life.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Applying Roles to Activities
Use your identified roles to plan summer activities or extracurriculars.
Explore roles you want to embody more and find activities that express them.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
To kick off Season 6, Ethan shares some practical resources based on a new framework he's been exploring. If you’re a regular listener, you’ll already be familiar with something we call the Roles and Identities List, which is a huge menu of roles (things like “catalyst” and “change-maker” and “party-bringer”) — Ethan has used it as a get-to-know-you exercise with a number of previous guests.
Today’s episode is the first of two where Ethan will dive into a few short, practical exercises for students and parents that can help them figure out things like how they’d like to focus their time as they go through this process. He gets into, among other things:
The philosophy behind the Roles and Identities framework
Some hands-on exercises that students can do — whether in 9th, 10th, or 11th grade — that can help them, for example, plan summer/EC activities, or even map out their college application.
A simple but powerful exercise for parents thinking about who they want to be in this process—since let’s be honest it isn’t the students who are learning about themselves here.
Stay tuned for Part 2 where Ethan will share some exercises that counselors can use to recognize patterns they may fall into at times and how they might practice more self-care and show up more fully for their students.
We hope you enjoy!
Play-by-Play
3:36 - What is the Roles & Identities Framework?
6:57 - Exercise #1 (for both students and parents): The Roles & Identities List
8:59 - Exercise #2 (for students): Using the Roles & Identities list to plan your summer or extracurricular activities
11:30 - Using The Values list to expand on your roles and identities
13:23 - Which parts of you will you show in your college application?
18:21 - Exercise #3 (for parents): Who do you want to be in this process?
The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions