Presentation Requests

This session explores research-backed strategies for academic recovery and highlights the value of a proactive, strengths-based approach to bouncing back. Emphasizing the role of social support, intentional resource use, and a growth-oriented mindset, the presentation focuses on how students can navigate academic challenges while building lasting skills and confidence.

This session reframes failure as a learning opportunity and challenges the idea that bouncing back is something you do alone. Participants will practice reflecting on setbacks in ways that produce useful information instead of shame, then look at the social and environmental conditions that make recovery possible in the first place. We'll treat resilience as a collective asset, one that grows through relationships, communities, and shared support, and discuss how students, classrooms, and organizations can build environments where both individuals and groups thrive.

Managing money in college is a vital foundation for student well-being, academic success, and future independence. This session redefines financial wellness as a form of self-care and emotional awareness, moving beyond restrictive budgeting to foster intentional habits. Integrating the Japanese art of Kakeibo (mindful ledger budgeting) alongside Texas State support resources, this presentation equips students with practical tools, campus connections, and the confidence to navigate their financial journeys proactively.

This session takes apart the arithmetic behind student loans: what interest is, how it is calculated, and what it costs over the life of a loan. Working through real federal loan numbers together, participants will learn to calculate what their own loans accrue per day, see how unpaid interest capitalizes into principal, and understand where each monthly payment actually goes. The session closes with the same math running in the other direction, plus four concrete steps students can take before the end of the semester.

This session explores Perry’s model of intellectual development to help explain why college learning can sometimes feel frustrating. By examining the stages of intellectual growth, students will gain a deeper understanding of their own learning process and discover strategies for engaging with complex, diverse perspectives with greater confidence.

Success in college isn’t just about intelligence; it’s about building habits and systems that keep you moving forward. This session explores four key pillars that drive achievement: Motivation, the spark that ignites your goals; Accountability, the structure that keeps you on track; Consistency, the discipline that turns effort into progress; and Support, the network that helps you thrive. Through practical strategies and interactive activities, we’ll discuss how to cultivate these elements (MACS) in your academic journey and beyond. By the end of this session, you’ll walk away with actionable tools to stay motivated, hold yourself accountable, maintain consistency, and identify your support systems to reach your full potential.

The total cost of a second year barely moves. What changes is how much of it passes through your own hands. Using the TXST Cost Estimator and two sample students, this session compares a first year on campus to a second year off campus and shows why year two feels harder even when the totals look similar. Participants will run their own numbers, see where the increase actually comes from, and leave with a timeline of the decisions (leases, summer aid, FAFSA, SAP) that have to happen before the problems they prevent show up.