For more than 30 years, I lived in the middle of higher education.
I saw students arrive hopeful and unsure.
I watched them get overwhelmed, misadvised, lost in systems that weren’t built for who they actually were.
I saw advisors trained to focus on academics and requirements, not on relationship or the broader context of a student’s life.
Classes that checked boxes but didn’t build confidence.
Students who quietly wondered, “Am I doing this right?”
I also watched what happened after graduation.
Students who did what they were supposed to do, earned the degree, landed the job, and still felt unsettled.
Some realized too late they had chosen the wrong major.
Others discovered that knowing a subject didn’t mean knowing themselves, or how to navigate real decisions, relationships, and direction.
That space between confusion and clarity is what I call the murky middle.
It exists before college and after it.
Before the title and after it.
Before the next step feels obvious.
And I know it deeply, because I lived inside that system for decades.
Today, my work is about walking with people through that season.
I help high school students prepare for what’s ahead without rushing them or overwhelming them.
I help graduates and young professionals make sense of what they’ve learned, who they are becoming, and what actually fits next.
Not with more pressure.
Not with one-size-fits-all advice.
But by helping people understand their strengths, their values, and the language for who they already are.
Clarity doesn’t come from forcing a path.
It comes from understanding yourself well enough to choose one.
That’s the work I do.
That’s the middle I stand in.
And that’s where confidence begins to grow.
