Experiential Higher Ed: The Changing Landscape

Abby Brody, CEO of the MYX and Michelle Jones, Founder, President and Chief Academic Officer of the Wayfinding Academy will discuss the changing landscape of higher education. As more high school graduates are either putting off enrollment, taking a gap year, or taking time to figure out their passion and skills, several innovative organizations have arisen to meet that need.  Hear from two people at the forefront of innovative, student and community-focused initiatives for young people. 

Wayfinding Academy was founded with the questions: How can we make college better for more of our young people? How can we make it more human? More adventurous and more practical at the same time? More about exploration, cultivation and curiosity and less about ticking boxes or doing what’s expected?

MYX offers students coaching, online education support, life skills, human connections and networking.

MICHELLE JONES - Founder and President | Chief Academic Officer Wayfinding Academy 

Michelle is doing her life's work right now, which is exhilarating and terrifying. Her purpose in life is to help others figure out what they want to do with their lives and start doing it. Five years ago, she gathered a group of like-minded friends and colleagues around a vision of what a revolution in higher education could look like. After years of volunteering with groups and non-profits to organize for social impact, (SuperThank, TEDxMtHood, World Domination Summit) Michelle took the leap and Wayfinding Academy was born. We are still learning as we grow, but we are definitely seeing some ripple effects of change in higher education. When not ruffling the feathers of traditional higher education, Michelle can be found walking the Camino de Santiago with fellow Wayfinders (this summer will be her seventh time!) or relaxing at her tiny home in Portland, Oregon.

ABBY BRODY - FOUNDER & CEO MYX

Abby is a lifetime educator with over 15 years of experience in the classroom and 12 years in administration. With MYX, she is leading the charge to present a new approach to higher education that meets the needs of the 21st century by creating experiences for young adults to find their life purpose while also gaining essential skills for life success.

It all started when she founded Mind the Gap, an organization devoted to studying why higher education was failing its students and designing solutions. In her research, Abby began to see that students are not being served by the traditional college track, which often leaves them shackled in debt and without life skills to succeed in the workforce. Coupled with the fact that the value of higher education with respect to life success has less to do with credits and more to do with experience, the solution became clear.

Abby assembled a team of fellow educators with deep expertise in traditional higher ed, experiential learning, place-based learning and more, then added a dose of real life with coaching and culture experts who could help serve the needs of the whole student as they set out to create their future.

Prior to founding MYX, Abby was a founding member of Avenues: The World School where she held multiple leadership positions, helping develop the first interconnected global independent school.

Register here.