IAM1526 – Founder Prepares High School Students for Success in College

With a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Regis College and a Juris Doctor in Law from Syracuse University College of Law, Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore has been practicing law for over 25 years. Her practice focuses on helping clients with numerous financial matters (real estate, estate, bankruptcy, debt, general matters) and long-term planning, yet one recurring theme that often crops up is inadequate planning regarding higher education, which can often lead to negative long-term life consequences.

Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore founded PCCI on the belief that a college education is one of the most important tools that can be utilized for success and that all college-bound students deserve to get good advice about where they should consider going and how to get there, to have the best shot at achieving their dreams. This takes preparation, time, and research which most students and parents/guardians do not have the time to do on their own. That is where PCCI comes in. She believes that it is never too early to start preparing high school students for success in college and to invest in their future.

• CEO Story: Honoria has been practicing law for most of her career. She started PCCI because of the need, and she enjoyed it. Learning behind the behind-scenes and processes. And not just the financial literacy side that students will get, but as well as the practical advice as they move on to the next chapter of their lives.
• Business Service: Work with students as soon as they start high school. Guide them through the whole process.
• Secret Sauce: Understanding and advising what’s best for the student’s success.
• CEO Hack: Always looking at what’s changing, constantly updated on what’s going on.
• CEO Nugget: Preparation leads to success. Start as early as you can and grab opportunities.
• CEO Defined: Everything is credited to you whether it's good or bad. Be ready. Always try to work on that angle to the best of your ability.

Website: www.personalcollegecounseling.com

LinkedIn: honoria-dasilva-kilgore

Instagram: personal_college_counseling

(Free E-book) College Admissions 101 book – www.personalcollegecounseling.com

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Transcription

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00:25 – Intro

Do you want to learn effective ways to build relationships, generate sales, and grow your business from successful entrepreneurs, startups, and CEOs without listening to a long, long, long interview? If so, you've come to the right place. Gresham Harkless values your time and is ready to share with you precisely the information you're in search of. This is the I AM CEO Podcast.

00:52 – Gresham Harkless

Hello, hello, hello. This is Gresh from the I AM CEO podcast. I have a very special guest on the show today. I have Anaria De Silva Kilgore, a personal college counselor, at PCCI. Anaria, it's great to have you on the show.

01:06 – Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore

Thanks for having me, Gresh. Looking forward to it.

01:08 – Gresham Harkless

I'm definitely looking forward to it as well. And before we jump into the interview, I want to read a little bit more about Anaria so I can hear about all the awesome things that she's doing. With a bachelor's of arts and political science from Regis College and a Juris Doctorate in Law from Syracuse University of Law, Anaria and her friends call her Nod, De Silva Kilgore has been practicing law for over 25 years. Her practice focuses on helping clients with numerous financial matters, real estate, estate, bankruptcy, debt, general matters, and long-term planning. Yet 1 recurring theme that often crops up is the inadequate planning regarding higher education, which can often lead to negative long-term life consequences.

Nod founded PCCI on the belief that a college education is 1 of the most important tools that can be utilized for success and that all college-bound students deserve to get good advice about where they should consider going and how to get there. In order to have the best shot at it, it takes preparation and time. Most students and parents have the time to do it on the PCC I come in. It is never too early to start preparing high school student for success in college and to invest in their future. Hopefully, you don't mind nodding. I call you to nod. Are you ready to speak to the I AM CEO community?

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02:26 – 02:27 – Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore

I am.

02:27 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome. Awesome. Well, let's get it started. So they kind of kick everything off. I wanted to rewind the clock a little bit and hear a little bit more about how you got started, what I call your CEO story.

02:36 – Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore

Okay. So I've been practicing law for most of my career. I still am. But as a side business, I started this personal college counseling because I just felt there was such a need for it and I really enjoyed doing it. And really I learned so much firsthand through the process I went through with my son. And I was like, Wow, so much is going on here behind the scenes. And I just don't think people realize how much is really happening. It's not just, oh, this 1 looks nice, or That 1 looks nice, or My friends went here, I've heard about that 1, let me try. That's like, gee, throwing a dart in the wind and hoping you hit the bullseye, that's not gonna work very well. And what I really found out, I mean, financial aid is 1 thing, and that's based on finances and the FAFSA and how much need a family has. And then certain schools have scholarships and whatnot based on need, as well as the guaranteed student loan, which need or not you are allowed to borrow X dollars every year.

But aside from that, there's all this other merit aid that's in conjunction and or separate from financial aid. And that's where the 2 you have to maximize to get the most bang for your buck. And I'm a very pragmatic person. I want all of my students to go to the best school for them, which may have nothing to do with the price of rice in China or where their friends go, right? It's about what's available for them. And secondly, making sure that it's within their family's reach to pay for. As a bankruptcy attorney, primarily, I can't tell you how many clients I have that it's 10, 15 years later, they're still paying off student loans, or maybe they're paying off their student loans and they guaranteed student loans for their kids. And this is just not a path to financial security. You don't wanna be in debt forever.

So my whole point is to make it within what's comfortable for the family finances. Don't overborrow and certainly don't bankrupt your future to go to some name school that you really can't afford even if you got in. So all those things need to come together. And I think when they do, you have opportunities, you have opportunity to grow and learn and succeed from that point forward without going, oh, I can't afford to take this job because it doesn't pay me enough to pay my student loan bill, right? And that's a horrible place to put a 21-year-old in where they can't even take chances because they got to live at mom and dad's house for the next 10 years to really launch. So we want to set the parameters and have them ready to do better. And I just they're not getting any of this advice at the high school level. It's just not happening.

06:00 – Gresham Harkless

This is why I love that you know everything you create and of course like I love the kind of for lack of a better term organic nature by which it seems like it came out as well too like you mentioned you know your son seeing that experience but also as your background being in a bankruptcy attorney and things that you're doing you know as we speak you know being able to kind of see like what is actually happening kind of more behind the scenes. It's not just saying, let me fill in this application and send it off and, oh, I got accepted. There's so much more involved. And I love that you have your pulse on all of that and understand definitely that financial piece and the ramifications that have for generation upon generation, sometimes based on the decisions that you make or sometimes don't make.

06:38 – Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore

Yeah, for sure. I think a lot of people in this space, there's so much misperception and I think preconceived notions. 1 is, 1, I didn't know you existed or these services existed, or 2, that they think it's only for wealthy families and this isn't the place for me. And that higher education scandal that came out a couple of years ago, didn't help that perception. So, there's a lot of information and education going on. And then when people realize, wow, even if I save 5, 10, 20% or better, we're always aiming to do as best

07:20 – Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore

We can. When you multiply that out by 4 years, that's a lot of money and it makes a big difference. So you always wanna borrow less as less as possible but still get a great option. This is not about compromising your options. It's about maximizing what's available.

07:42 – Gresham Harkless

Yeah, absolutely. And that extra 5%, you know, percent or whatever it is of being an opportunity that a lot of times could be somewhere else as well. So you want to make sure that you are, you know, making as wide decisions as you can make, which is why I love again everything that you're doing. So you touched a little bit upon how you're working with your clients. Could you take us through a little bit more on what that looks like and how you're serving the clients that you work with?

08:03 – Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore

So my goal, if I could have it, would be to work with students as soon as they start high school, really in freshman year. So I know I'm going against the tide on that 1, but when can I do it? But it's important to start as early as possible because part of what I do with them is guide them through the whole process while they're still in school. So they're taking the most appropriate classes. Tailor it to them. Don't just take a class because, oh, that's the hardest class. I should be in that. Not necessarily. And then you get the extracurriculars, and people go nuts on this, too. Like, I'm not here to overwork that kid and make him do everything under the sun. It's more important to do what you like, get good at it, have a passion for something or to some things or whatever that is, but just to put it on there to say, I did this 1 day and I did that.

The purpose to a college to diversify their profile is, they don't need 10 kids doing 10 things, but it'd be nice to get 10 kids doing 10 different things. Right? So do what's important to you and what brings you joy and that you can excel at rather than trudging through things just because it looks good on some resume somewhere. That doesn't make sense to me. So for me, it's about the academics and the social, getting to know that kid through the process. So I'm mentoring them not only through the high school process but also starting the search process that includes all the things they're interested in. You know, I want them to be the best version of themselves where they will fit in and do well.

10:00 – Gresham Harkless

That makes sense. No, I definitely appreciate that. And I almost wonder if that's part of what I like to call your secret sauce, the thing you feel kind of sets you apart or the organizational part makes it unique. It kind of seems like you have that ability or perspective to, I guess for lack of a better term, like look at it from other aspects, look at it. I was gonna use the word empathy, but it's like that perspective to understand from a college standpoint what they're looking for, but also the parents and understand what the counselors are doing and understand how you can set the child to best up for success by understanding each of those kind of viewpoints. Do you feel like that is part of your secret sauce?

10:37 – Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore

Absolutely, because I can tell you for sure that these school counselors don't know what the parents are doing. They don't know what they've saved or haven't saved for college. And for lack of a better word, I see a lot of gamesmanship going on if you will. Like I have a friend's kid who is an amazing math mind. I just, I'm in awe, right? This girl is so brilliant. And she's a phenomenal softball pitcher. And she got scouted and recruited at a school in New York and got a full ride, a full ride. I am like, hallelujah, that is a home run, right? I can't take credit for that 1 though, that she wasn't mine, but I was in the background giving them little tips.

And when she told her local high school counselor that that's where she was going for free for 4 years. She had the nerve to say, oh, I'm kind of disappointed. I hope you I was hoping you would have applied and gone to XYZ schools because that's a name brand she wanted on her chart if you will. And that makes me furious. You know, I'm like, that is just, who are you thinking about there? Are you thinking about the student? Are you thinking about, oh, I want to brag that my kid went here? And I just have no time for that.

12:05 – Gresham Harkless

Definitely appreciate that. And I wanted to us which here's a little bit. And I want to ask you for what I call a CEO hack. So this could be like an Apple Book or a habit that you have. But what's something that makes you more effective and efficient?

12:18 – Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore

I think I am always on the pulse of what's going on, and what's changing, because the stats that worked last year, might not be this year's stats. So don't assume things are the same or static or who's, for example, in the college world, this post-COVID landscape is so different. Who requires SATs? Who makes the test-optional? What does that really mean? Not what you think. And who has changed their philosophy to not even want those at all? You know, you have to know where they're at at any particular time when you're counseling a kid. So always checking those numbers, those stats, if you will, see who's changing their philosophy, who's changed their programs as there, you know, more perks coming up somewhere versus another place. And It's always changing, it's ongoing. So it's almost an obsession like every day. Like, oh, I wonder what's going on over there. Let's see if this is still the same, you know, stuff like that.

13:26 – Gresham Harkless

Nice. Yeah, and it's as funny as necessary because I think, you know, they will just say the only constant is change. And the best way to, to, you know, be on top of that is to have that pulse, to be like dialed into those things that are changing. So what would you consider to be what I like to call a CEO nugget? This is a little bit more word of wisdom or a piece of advice. I like to say it might be something you would tell your favorite client, or if you have to do a time machine, you might tell your younger business self.

13:54 – Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore

I'd say preparation. Preparation leads to success. So Don't expect to get the same results in something that you've spent 2 months working on versus 2 years. So start as early as you can and be ready. Be ready to grab opportunities that present themselves. Cause I think, I think Success is where luck and preparation intersect. And when you get that, you can go anywhere.

14:22 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome, awesome, awesome. So what would you consider to be your answer to my absolute favorite question, which is the definition of what it means to be a CEO or open up different quote-unquote CEOs on this show? So not what being a CEO means to you.

14:34 – Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore

Everything is credited to you, whether that's good or bad. Don't want the bad. Make sure you prepare to get the good, you know, be ready. Always, always try to work that angle to the best of your ability, because there's no 1 else to point the finger at.

14:55 – Gresham Harkless

Absolutely, all about preparation. So I absolutely love that and how that manifests itself in all the awesome things that you're doing. So not truly appreciate that definition. Of course, your time even more. So what I wanted to do now is pass you the mic, so to speak, just to see if there's anything additional that you can let our readers and listeners know. And of course, how best people can get a hold of you, and find out about all the awesome things that you're working on.

15:17 – Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore

I have my website which is personalcollegecounseling.com and if you go on there there's the email there's the phone number and I also have a little Instagram account that I like to actually have the kids sometimes post pictures on there that they send me where they go see, or when I go and travel and look at places or have announcements to make that I just kind of wanna broadcast or brag when the kids get accepted and you can see the dollars, right? The proof is in the pudding. It's not just me saying I can do certain things for you it's like okay he or she is going here and this is what they're getting if they just couldn't get enough of me here There's more that they can hear me talk about, but it's all there. So yeah, it's awesome.

16:07 – Gresham Harkless

Awesome, awesome. But wait, there's more. I definitely love that. And to make it even easier, we'll have the links and information in the show notes too so that everybody can reach out, you can connect with you, and listen to all the awesome things that you're working on. And I hope you have a fun time the rest of the day.

16:19 – Honoria DaSilva-Kilgore

Gresh, it was a lot of fun talking to you.

16:21 – Outro

Thank you for listening to the I AM CEO Podcast powered by Blue 16 Media. Tune in next time and visit us at iamceo.co I AM CEO is not just a phrase, it's a community. Be sure to follow us on social media and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes Google Play and everywhere you listen to podcasts, SUBSCRIBE, and leave us a five-star rating grab CEO gear at www.ceogear.co. This has been the I AM CEO Podcast with Gresham Harkless. Thank you for listening.

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