Welcome to Real College Talk! RCT is your destination for honest and relevant college and postsecondary conversation. In this episode, co-hosts Morgan Heath-Powers and Nikhil Namburi, welcome their first guest to the podcast! Meet Lily Sethre-Brink (0:25) - a graduating high school senior living just outside of Austin, Texas who’s making a big impact far beyond her hometown. Lily shares her unique high school experience scattered with several moves to new states and different schools (2:40), how she discovered and channeled her passion for human rights (8:00), and the path that brought her to choose Rice University after being so set on heading to the east coast for college (18:30). Lily offers experience-backed insight and advice as to how you can “step outside of the box” in high school (15:06), not only to do well in your college apps (12:30), but to get a head start on your own personal development as well. We talk about how to cope with and avoid comparison (21:40), create a culture of support and encouragement in your social groups throughout the college application process (28:33), and the ways in which you can make the most of your college experience whether you’re attending an Ivy League university or a local community college. Your co-hosts wrap up (29:30) by sharing how you can connect with them and Lily (31:48) to continue the conversation and get involved with the Real College Talk movement!! Real College Talk is a podcast that you won't want to miss! To catch every episode, make sure to hit the subscribe button and turn on our notifications. You can follow us on Instagram @realcollegetalk and follow our co-hosts @morgs__anne and @nikhil.vn. Give @lily.sethre a follow while you’re at it and follow her lead by sharing your story on the podcast as well! We are always working on new content, so be on the lookout for our latest episodes. In the meantime, Keep It Real!