Groups for Summer 2024

How to Think about College without THINKING ABOUT COLLEGES!

Rising 9th & 10th graders: join us this summer for a 5-hour workshop to develop a healthy mindset while setting strong foundations for success.

Program Design:

The workshop includes: Intentionality, how to choose a path rather than fixate on a destination; Documentation, how to curate as a practice of curiosity; Connection, how to nurture meaningful relationships; Resilience, how to choose when and how we respond; and Values, how to know, communicate, and hear what is important to each of us. Through each element, we focus on the key skills of high school that serve as a foundation for success, including executive functioning skills, self-advocacy skills, exploration and cultivating new interests, and building foundational disciplinary knowledge.

This workshop offers five hours of experience, offered in two formats: a 5-week workshop with weekly group meetings or a 5-day sprint with July or August options. An additional coaching session is available for tailored support after the workshop.

Cost:

• 5 Sessions, small group: $350

• 5 Session + a 1:1 coaching session: $500

• This workshop is educational in nature and not eligible for insurance reimbursement

Registration information:

To register, parents must fill out an interest form and schedule a screening call in May. Groups will be created and scheduled based on common interests and scheduling needs. 

• Groups forming:

  • Weekdays, July 8-12, nightly at 7

  • Sunday, August 11, 9-3

  • Weekdays, August 19-23, nightly at 6:30PM

About Small Space:

Ashley Thorndike, LGPC, has a MEd in counselor education from Mr. Jefferson’s University of Virginia, a PhD in dance from The Ohio State University, and a BFA in modern dance from the University of Utah. She grew up wandering around the University of Puget Sound where her dad was a physics professor and she even ditched the afternoons of her senior year of high school to study calculus there. After college, she attended a post-bacc year at Columbia University studying psychology. Later, she worked on the dance faculties at Oberlin College, George Mason University, George Washington University, and American University. As director of a non-profit she brought dance programs to Appalachian State University, Sam Houston State University, Lindenwood University, Ohio University, and taught at many American College Dance Festivals.  At every campus she has ever worked at—as a student, faculty, or guest—she’s met engaged, committed faculty members and driven, dedicated students. She loves colleges of all shapes and sizes.

As a therapist, she sees that her clinical clients feel anxious and stressed about college and parents of her clients don’t know how to realistically prepare their kids for increasingly tough admissions cycles, while nurturing resilience and an enjoyment of life. Ashley designed this workshop to help teens build the skills that translate into effective college preparations while maintaining a healthy, resilient mindset.