Coaching & Student Success Resources
Important ARU Documents
Succeeding in ARU
ARU can be a life-changing experience. Objectivism defines a framework for a flourishing life, and ARU can help you grasp and internalize that framework. The better you understand Objectivism, the better you’ll be able to think, produce, and build a life that you love.
To help you integrate ARU into your life, and to support your progress in your work, career and education, we’ve created this ARU Student Success resource. It contains:
- Access to 1:1 sessions with our coaches, Shruti Menon, Amanda Maxham and Steven Schub.
- The opportunity to apply for a longer-term coaching project, where you’ll have prolonged interaction with a coach as you work on a specific productive goal to benefit your educational or professional development.
- A growing library of articles, videos and exercises that can help you to thrive in ARU, troubleshoot your challenges, and make progress in your career and education.
The Student Success team members are themselves graduates of ARU or its precursor, the Objectivist Academic Center.
Amanda Maxham
Amanda Maxham is an ARU Coach and a scientist who has discovered a passion for podcasting. Amanda earned a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Nevada and left her career as a professor to pursue her childhood love of storytelling with sound. She now produces a podcast about happiness and supports Tal Tsfany’s Happiness Team in addition to being an ARU coach.
Shruti Menon
Shruti Menon is an ARU Coach. She has an academic background in philosophy, and has worked for over two years as an assistant coach with psychologist Dr. Gena Gorlin. She works on issues at the intersection of philosophy and psychology, both as a coach and a writer. Shruti frequently supports ARU students to work through uncertainty about their career direction and to develop strategies to achieve productive goals.
Steven Schub
Steven Schub is ARU’s Student Success Manager and an ARU Coach. He is a Lifetime Member of The Actors Studio, a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and has starred in over 25 feature films and television shows. He was the singer of two rock bands: The Fenwicks and HaSkaLA. He is a happy husband and proud father of two. Steven is a graduate of the Objectivist Academic Center, and is thrilled to be helping ARU students achieve their goals.
Jeff Scialabba
Jeff Scialabba is Director of Operations for ARU. He joined ARI in 2008 and has held various positions supporting the Institute’s educational programs. As director of ARU operations he works closely with senior faculty to design and implement its curriculum and oversees elements of ARU including admissions, administration, course operations and its coaching practice. He also supports the ARU Graduate Center and ARI’s activities for high potential students and developing Objectivist intellectuals.
Our coaches can support you in your progress at ARU, as well as other productive endeavors related to your career, work and education. Here are some examples of what students talk to our coaches about:
- Improving their productivity habits to meet deadlines and goals more efficiently
- Getting better at time-management
- Working through uncertainty about the kind of work they want to pursue
- Setting productive goals or next steps, based on their interests
- Troubleshooting challenges in their goal pursuit, and brainstorming strategies to overcome them
- Selecting ARU courses
- Navigating critical feedback and/or low grades at ARU
- Getting the most out of class participation and/or office hours
There are many other topics that you can discuss with a coach, related to ARU or your education or work outside it. If you’re unsure whether your question or topic is suitable for an ARU coaching session, write to coaching@aynrand.org with your question, and we’ll get back to you.
Schedule a meeting:
Schedule a coaching session with Shruti, Amanda, or Steven by clicking below.
- Shruti Menon | smenon@aynrand.org | Scheduling Link
- Amanda Maxham | amaxham@aynrand.org | Scheduling Link
- Steven Schub | sschub@aynrand.org | Scheduling Link
Slots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are having trouble scheduling a meeting please email coaching@aynrand.org or one of the coaches directly.
Disclaimer:
ARU coaching sessions are not therapy, or a substitute for therapy, and these sessions are not a professional mental health service. If you need help dealing with personal issues, or if you’re struggling with your mental health, please reach out to a mental health professional.
Coaching projects offer a valuable opportunity for students to engage in an extended, collaborative process with an ARU coach over approximately four months (eight coaching sessions.) During this time, students work towards a specific productivity goal related to their education or career.
These projects, which involve a substantial time commitment from the coach, are available through an application process to ensure a meaningful and impactful experience. Past coaching projects have included:
- Improving as an ARU student
- Deciding on a career direction
- Finding a job
- Writing a book
- Conducting activities promoting Objectivism
- Completing a PhD thesis
- Growing a business
- Preparing graduate school applications
- Creating a podcast
- Launching a blog
Please allow a week or two for us to get back to you on your application. We can’t guarantee that you will be assigned a coach, as this depends on the availability of our coaches and whether your project is a fit for coaching support, but we’ll do our best to help.
In this library you’ll discover key concepts and tools that will help you to be successful as a student in ARU and in your pursuit of happiness.
Disclaimer: We do not necessarily endorse all the material provided in the library, and some resources have been selected for specific portions that have been helpful to students in the past. Please use your judgment and discretion when engaging with the resources, and be selective and thoughtful about what is relevant and useful to you, given your context and goal pursuit. If you have questions about a resource and want to discuss it with a coach, please email them your question and point them to the resource.
Navigating ARU
Navigating the Objectivist Movement
Career and Work
Goal Setting
Introspection