A high school senior drafts an essay using generative AI to challenge her thesis, outline counterarguments, and polish syntax. This interactive process, called the pedagogical mirror, challenges the student and improves her reasoning. In just twenty minutes, she experiences a high-impact learning and development process. Across the hallway, the district administration installs software detecting AI usage, threatens suspension for academic dishonesty, and issues blanket bans o

When a disruptive technology enters the classroom, a familiar cycle unfolds. Skepticism leads to concern, and sometimes panic, over declining foundational skills. Institutional hesitation follows. Eventually, thoughtful integration takes hold. From cave wall tally marks to generative AI, every tool altering how people learn has faced initial resistance. Examining this pattern through the lens of Reception History reveals an important truth. Our current anxiety about artificia

Speech delivered to JMU's Parents' Council, Family Weekend, 2026 Jeff Hulett is a Professor of Personal Finance, College of Business at James Madison University Keeping The Madison Promise Thanks for all you do! JMU parents are such an inspiring resource! Today, we will address 'Keeping The Madison Promise' in 3 ways: What it is Some of the headwinds What we are doing to Keep The Madison Promise We all care deeply about the Madison Promise, which is the commitment James Mad

Today, I’m excited to interview Lee Norwood, founder of Annapolis College Consulting and a leader in college advising. Lee has worked with hundreds of students and visited countless colleges, helping families navigate the college application process with less stress. We’ll explore her approach and insights on guiding students through today’s ever-changing college landscape. About the author: Jeff Hulett leads Personal Finance Reimagined, a decision-making and financial educa

Today – we are going to get real! I’m going to share Bob’s college story. I’ll introduce Bob in a moment. To give you a little background, the college decision has become a high-stakes, high-risk, high-return decision. While college could provide a springboard for life and wealth success – college runs the risk of devolving into low employment, high debt, high-stress life. As good as it could be is as bad as it may be. Today, we discuss the regrettable door story. This

How would a risk manager or investor advise a college decision-maker? The very expensive college system exaggerates risks we did not have to consider in past generations. Having a clear understanding of college risks leads to better outcomes. I have been in risk management for most of my career. This talk provides essential information on using a risk manager’s perspective to make a great college decision! I integrate the wisdom of Warren Buffett and others to bring colleg

Making a good college decision is challenging. Our culture suggests that college is an excellent investment. The truth is, it can be, but the trick is not overpaying for the value. We suggested that large firms often recruit broadly across many selective and less selective colleges. Many firms also consider objective performance criteria as a gatekeeper to the interview process. About the author: Jeff Hulett leads Personal Finance Reimagined, a decision-making and financial

For decades, higher education relied on a straightforward model for student employment: the "Front Door." College students and administrators know this process well. It starts with polishing a résumé and writing cover letters, moves to building a profile on LinkedIn, and culminates in using campus-focused platforms like Handshake to apply for roles and visit recruiters' posts. Historically, this process worked well. Career services teams built robust systems around it, and ca

Today, we are going to take a different kind of decision journey by taking you to the other side of job decision-making. This article shows you -- How To Think Like A Recruiter! Earlier in my career, I led college recruiting for KPMG at James Madison University. Over the years, I am fortunate to have worked with many dedicated people. These are the hiring managers, recruiting leaders, and the many people collaborating to hire large intern and full-time hire classes every

I experience an ongoing love-hate push-and-pull relationship with Artificial Intelligence. As the founder of Personal Finance Reimagined (PFR) and a university professor, I observe both sides of this dynamic almost every day. At PFR, our founder's copilot and startup incubator actively leverage AI to vibe code technology, deploy agentic helpers across business operations, and reason through complex strategic problems. AI drives down costs, boosts solution quality, and acceler

A steady stream of headlines paints a cautious picture of technology in the classroom: "[It] makes the mind lazy. If you don’t use your brain to compute, your mental faculties will atrophy, leaving students completely dependent on [it] to do their thinking for them." "How can a teacher accurately evaluate a child's true cognitive ability when [it] is doing the work behind their back?" "If we substitute mechanical computation for human understanding, we will graduate a generat

As a college professor and through our work with entrepreneurs, I have a front-row seat to this generational disruption. Entry-level white-collar jobs are shrinking as companies deploy artificial intelligence to automate routine work. My students frequently voice their frustration with job platforms like Handshake and LinkedIn, describing the endless cycle of digital applications as "screaming into the abyss." I constantly encourage them. I remind them they sit on the front e

Some people feel uncomfortable with negotiating. This is unfortunate. Good negotiation leads to better outcomes for all. A good negotiation is a form of good communication, where all parties express their key preferences. This creates a better platform for productive, long-term relationships. Focusing on your BATNA is the foundation of good negotiation and a productive, long-term relationship. About the author: Jeff Hulett leads Personal Finance Reimagined, a decision-making

I show you how to make your work performance review a 2-way street — that benefits you as much as your employer. Most importantly, it helps you make a confident job decision - whether you commit to stay or move into job change mode. About the author: Jeff Hulett leads Personal Finance Reimagined, a decision-making and financial education platform. He teaches personal finance at James Madison University and provides personal finance seminars. Check out his book -- Making Choi

“Math language is incredibly important. Without it, unmoored uncertainty may cause people to check out and become increasingly disconnected.” “This math dance requires 2 partners; math mechanics grooving with math intuition.” “Today, math jobs are found in industries where “neuro-manipulation” has become the norm, such as social media or sports betting.” “Most people need math more as a consumer shield.” “The math mechanics dance partner needs to slow its role and let the ma

Now that you have completed the Personal Finance Reimagined (PFR) college decision readiness program, it is time to put your new skills into action on the road. To help students and counselors maximize upcoming campus visits, we have created a set of Companion Guides and Checklists powered by the College Xoice app. These resources work together to build a consistent, repeatable decision system, ensuring students make the best possible financial and life choices for their futu

"Screaming into the abyss" is that frustrating feeling you get when no one gets back to you. It is like ghosting on steroids. This is how my university students describe the modern job hunt. They submit dozens of applications through Handshake and LinkedIn, only to be met with total, deafening silence. If your students or mentees feel this way, tell them they aren't imagining it. They are completely right. The latest data from Stanford University confirms what we’ve suspect

For decades, we’ve hyper-focused on preparing children for the climate-controlled predictability of the office. But the automation age has flipped the script, and those sanitized roles are now the easiest to replace. True career resilience lies in the chaotic, high-stakes intersection of human empathy and material world complexity—what we’ve dismissively called "messy jobs." If your value is defined by following a script, your job is already obsolete. The new narrative is cle

For most families, the "college decision" is the single largest financial gamble they will ever take. We hand a 17-year-old a pen and ask them to sign off on a high-stakes, high-risk investment before they’ve even had their first full-time job. At Personal Finance Reimagined (PFR), we believe it’s time to move past the "degree-at-any-cost" mentality and start talking about ROI. I recently sat down with Dave Urso, Vice President of Academic Affairs at Blue Ridge Community Coll

In the high-pressure hallways of many high schools, a persistent myth refuses to die. It is the idea that community college is effectively “13th grade”—a consolation prize for those who couldn’t get into a “selective” school, or a social dead end that looks “uncool” on a LinkedIn profile. While students stress over which prestige sticker to slap on their parents' SUV, and parents worry about the social optics of the local junior college, the corporate world is looking at a co