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Scholarship Day 2016: What is Success?

On March 12th, high school seniors from South LA took another step towards their vision of success. Students from Manual Arts High School have passed through the purple doors of their campus before, but this day they walked into the halls in hopes that the next four hours would help open new doors to their future. Soon they would be joined by students from West Adams Prep, who were lining up for a bus on its way to the 4th annual Scholarship Day.

During the fall semester, many of these students wrote and polished their personal statements with the help of dedicated and specially trained 826LA volunteers. It was 9 o’clock in the morning when the same dedicated faces started to make their way to the registration table at Manual Arts. Some volunteers have tutored for years, while others trained for the Great LA Personal Statement Weekend and were eager to work with students again. Many nametags and “good mornings” later, each volunteer was led to the library where they fueled up with coffee and a personal statement refresher course before meeting with their students.

After weeks of planning, the team at 826LA had one last task to complete before the morning of the 12th. Phone calls to students were made as a reminder that they were registered for the event the next day. One student confirmed his attendance and asked, “Can I bring my girlfriend? I told her I was going and she wants to work on scholarships, too!” Some phone calls found parents on the other line: “Hola! Buenas tardes…mañana es Scholarship Day!” The next morning the staff was greeted by sixty-three students ready to start applying for scholarships.

At 10 o’clock, each student met with their tutor and began their day. They were given folders that mapped out specific scholarships they were eligible for. Tucked in their folder was also a detailed guide that included scholarships for students that identified as Feminists or LGBTQ, as well as scholarships for undocumented students and those with learning disabilities.

In room 241, Cynthia Sotelo and Janie Bragg steadily worked on the All Ways Up Scholarship. Throughout the school year, the Writers’ Room had seen this pair work together three times before—each time getting more familiar with each other. Trust develops when a tutor becomes a consistent adult in a student’s life. “Working with Janie for [Scholarship Day] was just awesome,” Cynthia says. “We already knew each other so well that it was soothing when writing essays […] when I came to 826LA, I knew that I was bound to discuss events that shaped my life the way it is today. It was uncomfortable to explain my background at first […] writing about myself and my background was an easier task because of Janie.”

In this time, Janie has seen Cynthia grow “as a student, a young woman, a confident writer, and a thoughtful contributor to her society.” Students like Cynthia have motivated Janie to come back to volunteer for the past two years. She says, “I want to see them all succeed [and] feel like family when I walk into the Writers’ Room—with the students, the other volunteers, and, of course, with T and Josh. It can feel as welcoming and warm as coming home.”

Success can be measured in ways beyond numbers and tasks. It can be measured by stories told, connecting with someone, and the differences people can make everyday. Everyone has their own definition of what it means to be successful and each vision of success has its own sound and trajectory. “Being successful means I’m happy. It means that I’ll enjoy doing what I do and that I’ll make a career out of it. I hope that I’ll be financially stable, while also helping others in any way that I can,” is Cynthia’s vision of success, while Janie expresses: “To be successful is to be one step closer to your ideal.”

When Scholarship Day came to an end, students and volunteers left to enjoy their Saturday. After the shuffling of young and old feet, success sounded like a quiet hall at Manual Arts High School.

~T Sarmina, In-School Assistant at Manual Arts High School

Interested in getting involved with our In-School program? Click here for more information.

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