For parents and young adults figuring out what comes next.
Trades, college, starting a business, time abroad, or something nobody has named yet. In two hours, we talk through expectations, what actually motivates your young adult, and the first steps toward a path worth starting.
$600 for the full session. No packages. No long commitment.
We talk about what you hope for, what worries you, what is realistic on time and money, and what you have already tried. Nothing is off limits and nothing is judged.
A separate, one-on-one conversation about what energizes them, what is getting in the way, and which directions they are actually curious about. What they say stays between us unless they choose to share it.
Within 48 hours you get a plain-language summary of the two or three paths we explored, with one concrete first step for each.
Apprenticeships, certificates, and programs that lead directly to skilled work.
Including community college and transfer routes, and how to tell if now is the right time.
How to find out if an idea has legs before spending a dollar on it.
Gap time, work abroad, or service, and how to make it count when they come back.
How to start working and keep every door open.
If it is not on this list, we will talk about it.
Dr. Matt A. Connell, MBA started as a special education teacher in Hartford, then spent two decades building programs for people the system had already written off. Participants in those programs have started more than 100 businesses.
He has helped hundreds of people start and grow their own businesses, and he is the author of Learning Outside the Lines. Pathway sessions bring the same approach to one family at a time.
What this is not: therapy or counseling, help with college applications or essays, or ongoing coaching. It is a focused planning conversation with a clear first step at the end.
Young adults roughly 17 to 25, and their parents or guardians. If your young adult is under 18, a parent or guardian takes part in hour one and gives written consent on the intake form.
Then wait. The session works best when they choose to come. Email me and we can talk about how to bring it up.
Only if they say yes. I ask at the start of their hour, and the Pathway Plan covers only what they have agreed to share.
In person in the West Hartford area when available, or by video.
$600 for the full session, including the written Pathway Plan. We set a time first, then I send payment details.
No. I cannot promise a decision or an outcome. I can promise an honest, unhurried conversation and a clear first step.
Not with essays or applications. If college is the path, I will help you work out what to look for and who to talk to.
Email matt@mattaconnell.com or send a note below, and I will get back to you.