Helping Your Teen Stand Out for College Through Purpose & Impact | Featuring Aishani Sheth

Parents, is your teen college ready? Are you feeling overwhelmed, stressed out, or excited about your teen applying to college? Do you know what colleges are looking for? And if your kid gets in, do you know what you'll pay for it? College admission has never been so competitive or expensive. Shellee Howard will take you on a journey to help you and your teen get college ready. Now here's your host, Shellee.

Well, hello again, parents. Is your teen college ready? This is Shellee Howard, the CEO and host of Parents, Is Your Teen College Ready? And I have the privilege of speaking to Aishani today. Aishani, welcome to the show.

Thank you. Thank you so much, Shellee.

I'm excited, parents. Wait until you hear what we are gonna be talking about today. Before we do, Aishani, can you tell our families a little bit more about yourself?

Sure.

So I'm originally from India, did my undergrad there, graduated with double majors. I was top of my class. I was captain of the state badminton team and the captain for 4 consecutive years. Post that, I was actually the only Indian and one of the first 4 Asians to be invited on a full Japanese government scholarship to study entrepreneurship in Japan. Took that plunge, got a chance to collaborate with the government of Okushiri Island. It's a very, very small tsunami and earthquake-hit island in the north of Japan on a project on how did I revive the island's economy. Let me tell you, the average age of the population was 85 years old. I did not speak Japanese, they did not speak English, but I still did secondary research, presented them recommendations, they got it translated, and I'm really proud to say that my recommendations actually were implemented by the Japanese government and were making a positive difference. And this was right during around the undergrad age. Age, moved back to India, wanted to be in the financial world. I joined BlackRock, which is the world's largest asset manager. I worked with corporate treasuries, CEOs, helped them really invest correctly. But I felt like after a point my learning curve was peaking and I wanted to do something else. That's why I ended up going to business school. I graduated from Columbia Business School in New York City. I did my MBA there, worked on Wall Street afterwards at Bank of America Merrill Lynch for a few years in their M&A team. The pandemic hit. I wanted to be closer to family, so shifted back to India for a bit because I just felt like my parents were not growing any younger. I just wanted to be closer to home at that time. And I was like, okay, what do I do now? Now I have all these tick marks I wanted, that I dreamed of since I was a kid.

Now, now what?

And I always knew I wanted to start something of my own, but to gain that experience, uh, I was like, okay, let me do my hand at—

try my hand at consulting. So I worked with a fintech startup, helped them launch a lending product, an investments product, uh, and consulted with an education startup. Now this was my professional journey.

Let me talk bit about my personal journey and growth. So throughout my schooling, undergrad, master's, basically throughout my life, I have always given back to the community. I worked with people who are differently abled, helped them launch new products so that they can get more revenue, help with marketing strategies, worked with kids from underprivileged background, taught them English and mathematics through dance and music. I think the turning point really came when I worked with a nonprofit where we transformed over 500 resource constrained and underserved schools through corporate donations of 5,000. So we transformed infrastructure, sanitation, and drinking water facilities that affected 250,000 underprivileged kids. And the best part was not that a movie was made based on that initiative by a nationally acclaimed director, but adolescent dropout rates— for, sorry, sorry, school dropout rates for adolescent girls reduced drastically because now there was clean sanitation. And I realized as a high schooler, as a fresh undergrad, that was the impact I could make. Now, I did that in my personal life because my parents wanted my sister and me to always give back to the community, and I never knew I could really stand out in my college applications and get into Columbia doing that. Now, while consulting with the education-based startup, I realized that I always wanted to start a social entrepreneurial business where I'm making real impact at the end of the day to the communities that are less privileged than I was growing up. And that's how Consult for Impact was born. But yeah, that's what I do. That is my background where we do pro bono nonprofit consulting work by mentoring high schoolers across the world. And it's fully remote. So the kids from an applications perspective have the what, the when, the how, the impact.

But from a personal learning perspective, we teach them problem solving frameworks, systems thinking that people 10, 20 years in their career are doing. So we teach those skills right in high school, and they do the whole program under structured mentorship. Now let me give you in on a secret. All the mentors are basically people with my background, my friends from Columbia Business School, and my friends who are MBAs from Ivy Leagues who are working in their full-time jobs. They are very senior at McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Google, Deloitte, Ernst Young, Goldman Sachs, and they just want to give back to the communities.

They want to mentor young minds.

So taking out their time from their busy full-time schedules to give back. So the access that high schoolers have at such a young age is crazy. And that's how like Concerned for Impact was born. It's a win-win-win-win-win for literally everybody.

So good. So wow, you shared a lot of information and your accolades are so impressive. Well done and congratulations.

Thank you.

Let's, let's help parents who are listening Let's break it down for them. Like, what is it that you actually do? Like, what is the simple step-by-step process? Because it's so impactful, I, I'm curious to hear.

So let me start with the base, like understanding the gist of the program. So what happens is when I was working with, or rather volunteering with all these nonprofits, one thing I realized that they always find people on ground to help them implement, but they are so resource constrained that they do not have enough time to think about new perspectives. And that's where the high schoolers come in. So from the high school student's perspective, they apply to the program, they write a few areas of impact that they care about. Now I have this whole network, rather a whole growing network of nonprofits from across the world that have all these different problems. So then we match them up with a problem statement. Now, 6 weeks, the student works on solving for the problem. So it's not literally jumping to a solution, but it's really taking a step back and thinking thinking about, for starters, why this problem exists, that the resources—

what are the constraints, what are the causes, what are the consequences— and really break it down. Then they learn about what others from across the world are doing, and doing it for a profit or for a nonprofit, and they're successfully doing it. Now, given this particular nonprofit's constraints, what can be implemented by this nonprofit based on impact, based on feasibility? And then the question comes: how do they implement it? What resources will they require? What are the step-by-step logistical breakdowns. Who will implement it? When will it be implemented? And then most importantly, once it's implemented, how do you measure success? How do you measure impact? And do this over 6 weeks. Like, we— them every Saturday. We have live interactive sessions for this summer where we have guest speakers from McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Google, like all our mentors and their network all coming in and teaching students.

The students work in breakout rooms, so they get also access to kids who are like-minded, who are as ambitious, as motivated to really give back. From across the world. So build those friendships and that network at such a young age, and they come up with a consulting report that goes to the nonprofit CEO. So the students are effectively getting a voice at the board level, at a decision-making level. So think of it as a consulting internship, but you're consulting for a nonprofit and not a for-profit organization, but you're literally doing all those things that you would do in an internship.

Wow, what a great opportunity. They're gonna learn collaboration, they're gonna learn leadership, they're gonna learn, I mean, the, that you all are making it sound so amazing. So at College Ready, we also, we have a nonprofit called EmpowerEducation.World. And so I understand what you're talking about in the fact that how impactful these students can really be, right? I mean, age, it's mind-blowing at how, how they can step into this and truly be great. So maybe you can share a little bit about, out of all the things you could be doing right now with all of your accolades, why this? What, what, what was it about the, the connecting of the high school students with the nonprofit and the consulting?

That's a great question. So I come from India. I have a big family. I have cousins, I have friends of cousins. It's a whole community. Now, always mentored them in like doing projects for the community in general. Like they were always interested. They would always come to me for guidance, even from an applications perspective. And I did that because I loved doing it. I loved working with younger kids. So that was definitely there. Another thing was throughout my corporate life, the one thing I always felt missing was I wanna give back. How do I give back more? So even while at BlackRock, I volunteered to teach financial literacy to underprivileged women. While at Columbia Business School, I was part of the nonprofit leadership board program. I also volunteer at the shelters. While at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, I tried my best to give back, but it was the pandemic. It was a little difficult to do anything in person, but I just felt like there was something constantly missing. And then randomly I looked back at my essay where I got into Columbia. I was just reading through it. And one thing I mentioned that I want my social and financial needs to be met, which basically meant that I want to give back, but I also want to make money to put food on the table at the end of the day. Like, I want to be financially independent, but I also want to give back. So how do I combine the two things?

And that's how Consult for Impact was born.

Exactly like I mentioned, it's a win for the kids because they can stand out in college applications.

It's a win for the parents because the kids are really understanding resource-constrained environments. They're learning They're building character in a way, right? Because they're understanding that others are not as privileged as they are. It's a win for the counselor because— who recommends the kid to me, or the school guidance counselor that recommends the kid to me— because they have a story to share. They have the what, when, the how, the impact. They have the entire thing. It's a win for the nonprofit because they're getting additional volunteers coming in. They're getting a different thinking perspective.

They're getting Even, how do I say it? They're getting recognition for being a nonprofit at the end of the day by kids from across the world. It's a win for the mentors because they get to give back and shape young minds, and they get to give back to the community. And it's a win for me because I can really see the impact that my kids are making. You will not believe, Shellee Howard, 98% of all our student recommendations were implemented by the nonprofits in less than a year. The other 2% were not because they were not good enough. It was just that the reso— they were so resource constrained and they had to like change priorities. Priorities, but, but it's in the pipeline. It's in the pipeline. So the win-win-win-win-win for everybody.

What would be an example of one of those recommendations that were implemented so parents can have an idea of like what, what level, what, what was that look like?

That's a great question, and I'm so happy you asked that. So we work with one of the nonprofits in India. It's almost 100 years old. Okay. And they work towards women empowerment for women from underprivileged backgrounds. They help with vocational training. So they can be stay-at-home full-time moms, but they can also earn side incomes. These women also go through domestic abuse, but then they also get counseling by this nonprofit, and it's created a whole community. Now, this nonprofit was facing the issue that what other vocational training programs can we create for these women to have flexible work, not jobs. I wouldn't call it jobs because they can't do 9 to 5. They have to take care of their in-laws who live with them. They have to take care of their kids. They have to take care of the household, but they still want to be financially independent. Now this kid who, who is actually from the US, who did not really understand what it takes to one, be in that situation, because of course he has had no exposure to that and that's totally all right.

So through the program, he really understood the resources, the constraints, the causes, the consequences. And one recommendation he actually gave the nonprofit was why don't they become delivery agents to deliver like Amazon products or like even, uh, or like DoorDash, Ola, or Valence in India and this nonprofit. It actually ended up implementing it. So now these women have joined these companies as part-time delivery agents, getting more money, which was unbelievable, because the nonprofit CEO reached out to me saying that we're so happy, we didn't even think about this. It's safe for the women, it's completely flexible. There's less training required, there's not much to do, there's no— very low investment, because they can actually cycle and deliver the goods. And it was just Incredible. So now more and more women are registering through the nonprofit and even the company that was the DoorDash or the Instacart equivalent is extremely happy because now they can talk about how they're helping underprivileged women and giving them more jobs.

So, which was just incredible.

I think that's amazing. So how many students went through your program last year? I know you kept it nice and small in an effort to try to make a really positive impact, but what did that look like?

That's a great question. So one thing about our program is all kids, all counselors, all parents, they're in touch with me and not my team. So I am present in each and every kid's project as a mentor, as a sounding guide. I hold office hours whenever they want. They can just reach out to me. I'm always available. So last year we kept the cohort size intentionally small. We only did 20 kids. This year, in fact, we've actually increased the number because now we have more bandwidth. We understand a little more about what the kids are gonna ask us, where they need more hands. But we ran a summer and a winter cohort, so it was 20 in the summer, 10 in winter. But yeah, yeah, we had to say no to a lot of applications. This year I'm really proud to say that we only do not take for-profit kids. We do foundation kids as well, and 20% of our kids, I, I just didn't want money to stop kids who are like super up to learn and create impact. So 20% of our limited cohort size we offered in full scholarship.

So nice. That's amazing. So how will this help the high school student?

That's a great question. So in a couple of ways, let me talk about the tangible way first. And the tangible way is they get a certificate of completion. They get a letter of recommendation from the mentor, of course, provided they've successfully completed the program. And the third is they really have real assets to show in the application process, which is the consulting report that goes to the nonprofit CEO, but also a case study where I ask them introspect reflective questions. It's a two-pager, but they talk about their process— what, the when, the how, what was the turning moment, what did they learn something new, what challenge they're thinking. So things they can talk about in their interviews or even in the Common App if they want to. These are the tangible outcomes for the kid. The intangible ones, I would say, is the connection with the mentor. These people are really, really experienced, like 10 years of full-time work experience. They've gone through the same rigorous cycle, and they've been there, they've done that 10 years ago. So that's a great relationship to have, and our mentors are for life, as I am for life. Like, we don't end it once the program ends. So that is definitely one. The second is being part of a community from across the world, like, like-minded kids who are equally passionate, who are, who are also aspirants to go to the top schools across the world. So building that network early on. The three is the skills that they learn. They learn problem-solving, systems thinking, communication, because you're communicating with the CEO at the end of the day. So you learn those skills early on and you can use them way beyond high school, way beyond college also. But yeah, these are intangibles and these are the tangible outcomes that the students leave with.

And what are you looking for in an applicant of a student who is applying to your program? What, what, what are your, you know, you looking for to make sure that the student is going to be a positive impact?

That's a great question. So we don't look at GPAs, we don't look at their extracurriculars. What we look at, so they go through an application and then they do a one-on-one interview with either me or somebody in the team, and we look at One, are they respectful? Two, are they really authentic? Do they really care about making an impact? And the three is, are they going to be sincere? Those are the three things we look at, because if they're sincere, if they're respectful, and if they're genuinely passionate, they're going to make a difference and they're going to be a value add to the cohort.

Hmm, so good. And what ages do you support?

8th grade to 12th graders. Having said that, we've also had gap year students. We've had kids who are also in their undergrad who really want to do something. They want to either get into consulting later on and just looking for other activities. But yeah, we hit from like 8th to 12th grade, but also a little beyond.

So good. I know that when my son was working at Bain Consulting, um, he was bored to tears and this would've been something that he would've loved to have done. So I, I think it's super impactful. And my final question is, um, so we, the student would work 6 weeks. Is it every day? Is it once a week? What, what is the commitment?

I'm so glad you brought it up because I completely forgot about mentioning this. So the one, the program's fully remote. We, the total time commitment is only 3 to 5 hours per week. That's it. It's not more than that. And the only fixed part about the program is the Saturday live interactive sessions for 2 hours. Rest, the mentor meeting, when they want to finish their homework assignment, it's completely, completely flexible. So they can pursue this alongside the other activities they have in the summer. So the 6 weeks is when they come up with a consulting report on the case study. And the next 6 weeks, if they choose the implementation implementation track, they actually get to implement it with the nonprofit partner and see real impact within those 6 weeks.

Wow, that's powerful because, you know, looking for who is that student, what matters to them, and what have they done to show proof. And this is such a great way to do that. So thank you so much. Now, if, if listeners wanted to learn more about the program, how might they do that?

They can go through our website like www.consultforimpact.org. And if they have any questions, questions or are interested, they can just reach out to me on LinkedIn, uh, or my email address is on the website. It's aishani.shade@consultforimpact.org. And LinkedIn, I think there's maybe one or two Aishani Shades, but they'll be able to find me.

Yes, I get it, I get it. I love that. Is there any last words of advice or encouragement you would give to these parents who are listening?

My recommendation is I understand getting into a top university is a very stressful process Having been there, having done that, my recommendation is sign your kid up for something that really matters to them and help them develop skills that are like for personal development and professional development, but don't let the professional development skills dominate their personal development. Like if that makes sense, like don't put pressure on your kid. Your kid is gonna do amazing come what may. Just make them do activities that are really meaningful 10, 20 years down the road as well, and not just today.

So good. Parents, you've got this. Here's more resources. It takes a village. And if you like what you hear, please subscribe to the podcast. If you can, you can find us on Apple iTunes, Amazon Music, Spotify, and other platforms. We'd appreciate it if you would leave us a review. What we do is about helping your family prepare for college. And here's another opportunity. So you have a way to connect. We'll put it in the show notes. Thank you so much for being on the show. And until next time, parents, you've got this.