By Amanda Barrell
Parents sending their children off to college can be very
daunting. Whether students are going 20 minutes or 2,000 miles away, parents are
often unaware of the resources available to their students at school. While
eager high school seniors have a lot to look forward to with the new and
exciting experiences of college, parents are left wondering how they can help once
their kids aren’t at home anymore. Many parents struggle in toeing the line
between being overbearing “helicopter parents,” hovering over the student’s
every move, or giving too much distance while their student struggles to adapt
to life at college.
Sarah Schupp, a Dallas native, and her family had been
coming to Colorado for vacations and ski trips for years before she decided to
attend college at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2000. As a student,
Schupps specialized in the marketing and entrepreneurship management program
through CU’s Business school and participated in the President’s Leadership
Class.
During her time at CU, Schupp noticed a gap in the information
about resources that help students support their students while at school. With
this in mind, Schupp, along with a few of her entrepreneurship program classmates,
found the inspiration to make a change. For her senior project, Schupp created
a resource for parents called
University
Parent Media to help inform them about everything from tuition deadline
dates and financial aid to restaurants, activities and other things to do in their
student’s college town.
Schupp acknowledged that starting UPM had its share of seemingly
insurmountable problems. From HR issues to increasing cash flow, Schupp faced
no shortage of challenges, but she overcame them through perseverance.
“I just had to keep going and overcoming small obstacles,”
Schupp said.
Despite the challenges and setbacks, Schupp had a clear
passion and dedication for the goal that she and University Parent Media were
working toward, which ultimately led to UPM’s success.
Young professionals in the Boulder area can learn a lot from
the example set by Schupp’s dedication to University Parent Media. Given the
nature of her company, it is essential for Schupp to reach out and interact
with members of the communities which UPM features. Schupp works with
university officials to engage with local community resources to provide
material for each edition of the guidebook.
Additionally, Schupp and her team work with various local
businesses in order to build solid relationships and facilitate advertising
sales for the guidebooks. Her largest advertisers are local hotels and Dell
Inc.
Eight years after it’s founding, University Parent Media now
reaches over 200 campuses and millions of parents every year, with new schools
being added every month. UPM has published guidebooks, an email newsletter and
a new website with helpful information for parents.
“It’s so exciting,” said Schupp. “90% of the time our work
is changing, but I’m rewarded in hearing the impact UPM has had on parents,
schools, and the local community.”
In 2011, ColoradoBiz Magazine chose the company as one of
the Top 100 Women-Owned Colorado Businesses. In 2012, Inc. Magazine featured UPM
on their “
30 Under 30” list of
America’s coolest young entrepreneurs.
Schupp credits her staff with the company’s success: “I’m
really proud of our team. We rely on
everyone’s contribution to make us successful.”
Learning about the university system has been one of the
biggest accomplishments since starting the business. “I’ve gotten to learn about how higher
education works,” said Schupp. From the admissions process and financial aid to
extracurricular activities and weekend events around town, Schupp has gained
unique knowledge about all facets of university life.
“I recently attended a conference put on by AHEPPP (the
Association of Higher Education Parent/Family Program Professionals), and it
was really interesting to get an inside view of the challenges facing schools,”
said Schupp.
Looking to the future, Schupp and University Parent Media
continually strive for ways to achieve their goals and increase their presence
at schools across the country. In December they will launch a brand new mobile
website, in addition to bringing on new schools every month. Schupp’s other
goals for University Parent Media include providing information for 1,000
schools across the country, increasing their email list to one million recipients
and making it onto Inc. Magazine’s “5,000 Top Fastest Growing Companies” list.
However,
the costs are slightly more. With the usual risk of emotional damage, dating
your boss also comes with additional break-up costs. You will be seeing this
person 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, so if things go south, this sort of
interaction could lead to awkward office encounters. Additionally, the cost of an office
relationship can include maintaining gossip, defending against claims of
favoritism, and, when company policy forbids such a relationship, lying to
co-workers lest you and your significant other face termination. Lastly, you
should consider whether or not you want a clean break between your work life
and your social life. Dating your boss, or any coworker for that matter, has a
tendency to bring work home.
