The Futures Collection is a novel approach to note-taking and study skills. Comprised of three specialized notebooks, this system is designed to address barriers that students face as a result of their learning or psychiatric disabilities. Leah Ellis, founder of the LeahMonet Philanthropic Foundation, felt that creating an organizational system that focused on habit development, experiential learning, and conceptualization would guide student success. We are pleased to announce that the Futures Collection is now widely available at the MSU Student Book Store (SBS)! Following up on our original story back in January, we checked in with Leah to hear about this exciting new development.
Despite initial advice instructing her not to contact shops directly, Leah was determined to market her product and ensure academic success across campus. Bold in her approach to distribute her collection, she contacted the SBS and shared information with them about the how each section of the Futures Collection worked. They were on board, and Leah was in business.
About this process, Leah shares: “In my mind I said: ‘I will just call the Book Store and let them know about the product to see if they’d want it,’ . And everyone said you can’t just do that. But, in my mind I said: “I could just try, because the worst thing they could say is no.”
With her objectives including working with other disability departments in the Big10, Leah is delighted to have started her journey with the Futures Collection at Michigan State University, assisted by the RCPD. Thanks to the trial conducted with students under the RCPD Stern Tutoring and Alternative Techniques for Education (STATE) program, she feels excited about creating the same experience for others.
“To look at the smile on the students faces. To hear them describe how crazy the semester was and for them to give me feedback. To have all of them support it and explain to me the benefits that they had in their test scores...That is all I want. I want the end result. This is something that is really helpful and I want to see that smile on a student's face. That is what these notebooks were created for.”
Check out: Futures Collection Lecture Notes, Chapter Notes, and Exam Study Guide!