“I feel like there is always success from these sessions because I feel like there is always something you can do that helps [the student] do something. Any help is better than no help and it always gets them to a place than where they weren’t before.”
— Megan 826LA Volunteer since 2012
On March 23, 826LA invited 95 volunteers and 95 LAUSD students to Manual Arts High School for the 7th Annual Scholarship Day—the biggest crowd 826LA has hosted for a Scholarship Day to date. They spent their Saturday working on completing scholarship essays for college.
The Great Los Angeles Personal Statement Weekend is designed to help high school students write essays during the college application process, which can be intimidating. Scholarship Day then helps students transform their completed personal statements into well-written and intentional scholarship essays to gain funds toward their college of choice.
826LA welcomed volunteers and students and paired them up! Each pair was given a folder filled with the student’s transcripts, SAT scores, resumes, and the personal statements students wrote for college admission. Two pre-selected scholarship applications were curated for students based on topics students identified with. Over the course of four hours, students worked one-on-one with volunteers, using content from the college personal statements as a base, to write new essays that better fit specific scholarship essay prompts. Having a volunteer tutor by their side was noted to be very motivating and impactful for students.
Read some student and and volunteer testimonials below:
Student and Volunteer Testimonials
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“It has been a little hard getting my
exact thoughts on paper in terms of Personal Insight Questions and essays and stuff like like that. I think it’s
pretty stressful, but 826LA helps a lot with stuff like this!”
—Ashla, New West Charter School
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“There’s always a challenge because you have a short time together and you do the best you can with somebody, but that’s a good challenge to have. …All the students that come to Personal Statement Weekend and Scholarship Day want to be seen and known, and have someone say, “yup, you’re good.”
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“I thought it was really cool because I am a first generation student and a low-income student and I thought it was cool to connect with [my student] through the process because I didn’t have anyone. I feel like I can make a difference.”
—Cara, USC student
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“I worked with two different students. Both of them kind of reminded me of myself, if that makes sense. One of the girls had my undergrad alma mater on her list, and so I thought was really cool. The other student had a
circumstance of growing up similar to mine, and could relate to both of them. It made it even more impactful. I felt that I could really help them.”
—Sidney, Scholarship Day Volunteer [/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_1third]
“I feel a little more confident because my work is more revised and I feel more confident about getting acceptances.”
—Odalias, Manual Arts High School [/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_1third_end]
“I feel like it helped a lot today. And I was really productive today! I am
getting stuff because if I didn’t come, I wouldn’t apply to scholarships, if I am being honest.”
—Uriel, West Adams
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High school senior, Randy was paired with volunteer, Alvin during GLAPSW in November. Together, they complete Randy’s personal statement essays for his dream schools, and coincidentally, the two were paired up again for Scholarship Day! Randy and Alvin spent another day ensuring college access by completing scholarships. Read about their journey below:
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“Communication is key and Randy is really great at communicating. He’s outspoken and open minded and we really talked through the components of the essay, and that really contributes to a more robust essay when you can talk it out through, trial and error. I think finding any sort of connection to them, like me being close in age to them, I think is big. Being a minority is a big help too. I think trying to find a connection any way that you can will help find common ground to fall upon when you’re collaborating.” —Alvin
“I think it was great. It was productive because we got a lot of work done. We got two applications done! I feel more comfortable. Especially with Alvin, he’s cool. The coolest tutor I’ve had.” —Randy
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Thank You
826LA thanks the every student, educator, and staff of the participating high schools: West Adams High School, Manual Arts High School, Theodore Roosevelt High School
Big thank you to all the volunteers who came out to provide much needed support for LAUSD college bound students. A special thank you to our Corporate Partners who came together to support high school seniors during Scholarship Day: Writers Guild Foundation, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Age of Learning, LA Promise Fund, and Amazon.
All photos were taken by Jorge Segura. See more pictures of Scholarship Day on our Flickr here.
Are you interested in helping high schoolers prepare themselves for college? 826LA works with several LAUSD high school students throughout the year. The organization helps support educators with several projects and publications. To be involved register to become an In-Schools volunteer today HERE.