Dr. Stacey Gonzales holds a masters in educational leadership and a doctorate in educational technology, and served as an Adjunct Instructor at Northern Illinois University. Liz Leiba is the Instructional Design Manager/LMS Administrator for City College in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and has ten years of experience teaching college and university courses both face-to-face and online. Liz recently became a cohost of the EdUp podcast where she interviews guests, ranging from university Presidents to ed-tech entrepreneurs, to bring cutting edge educational trends and insights to listeners. Together, Stacey and Liz led a LaunchPad Campus Director AMA on the topic of supporting the social and emotional learning (SEL) needs of remote student entrepreneurs in May, 2020.

Stacy and Liz believe before college and university staff can effectively support the social and emotional needs of remote student entrepreneurs, they must first recognize the importance of these elements for themselves. After strengthening their own support for and capabilities around SEL, only then can they promote and pass on these skills to their students. Stacey and Liz also encourage those working with students to think of this social and emotional support effort as continuous.

Structuring their presentation on the CASEL model of SEL, Stacey and Liz reviewed each segment and considered how these might be areas in which student entrepreneurs may need support as they work on their ideas away from campus:

• Self-management: Social and emotional needs critical to successful students working in remote environments, this area involves stress management, self-discipline, self-motivation, goal setting, and organizational skills. 

• Responsible decision-making: Social and emotional areas important to entrepreneurs of all ages and working in all environments, this segment includes identifying, analyzing, and solving problems.

• Relationship skills: Social and emotional elements that are particularly applicable to student entrepreneurs working in teams, these include the ability to communicate, engage others, and negotiate conflict.

• Social awareness: Social and emotional needs in this segment are especially necessary given the culturally diverse relationships between students we promote. These soft skills and needs include respect, empathy, and considering different perspectives.

• Self-awareness: Perhaps the most important and foundational component of social and emotionally-supported learning, self-awareness involves helping your students confidently recognize their own emotions, thoughts, and values.

In addition to a number of ways these areas can be strengthened, Stacey and Liz also presented a number of immediately implementable exercises (including breathing exercises) and digital tools (including Mentimeter and Padlet) to help create an environment in which students’ social and emotional needs are met.

For Stacey's and Liz's thoughts on all of these topics and more, check out our recording of their LaunchPad Campus Director AMA on Crowdcast.