Continued from the newsletter

Continued from my February 2025 newsletter…

Nina is a recent graduate of Middle Tennessee State University with a BS in Aerospace, which includes a concentration in Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Nina is a member of our church and was a participant in our Turner Chapel AME College Cohort throughout high school. Beginning as a middle school student, she participated in the OBAP ACE Academy during each summer throughout high school, receiving her private pilot’s license and drone certification.

Nina was a hard worker throughout high school. She was a longtime Girl Scout, earning her Gold Award, and a varsity athlete. Throughout high school, Nina never wavered in her passion for flying. However, after entering college, Nina found the costs associated with continuing in the professional pilot’s program at Middle Tennessee State prohibitive so she pivoted into the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations Concentration. As a result of pivoting to this major, and already having a drone certification, Nina landed a job immediately after graduation with a company as a drone pilot and researcher.

Watch Nina’s flight video (https://youtu.be/9I3ijxuOlfU?si=GjeQNhDebCdLO1iE).

This is a critically important consideration outlined in How to Plan Your Career or College Pathway. Following are important considerations, together with the page numbers if you choose to read more:

• Explore the 16 National Career Clusters to identify which clusters are available in your school or school district (page xiii)
• Keep in mind that any of these career clusters can lead into the workplace, military, or college (page xiii)
• Be aware that whatever your future educational or career aspirations are, there are 3 basic pathways after high school: work, military, college (page 1)
• Begin “aligning” the classes that you are taking in school with your “aspirations” after high school (page 4)
• Begin thinking more about what it will mean to enter the workplace, military, or college after high school (page 8)
• What is your reason for learning? (page 10)

There is no need to wait until you are a high school senior to given serious thought to your career or college pathway. As soon as you experience your first elementary school Career Day or have an experience that inspires you to explore a particular career pathway, begin thinking about the K-12 plan that would “align” with your career pathway. 

Continued from my February 2025 newsletter…

From 2017 through 2018 we spent 2 years working with Robert. We met with Robert and his parents one Saturday per month throughout the school year. Robert was an accomplished dancer and gifted in the arts. He was in the Guilford County All-County Choir, North Carolina Honors Choir, and North Carolina All State Choir. Robert was also academically accomplished with a 4.1 GPA, ranked in the top 20% of his high school class, and enrolled in multiple AP classes.

During each meeting, Robert worked through lessons in our online curriculum taken from our book, A High School Plan for Students with College-Bound Dreams. While Robert began the process with a desire to attend an in-state school (i.e., North Carolina State or North Carolina A&T), he received his largest scholarship offer from George Mason, where he has since attended and graduated with a BS in Community Health with a concentration in clinical science.

During his time at George Mason, Robert continued building his résumé through his participation in many campus-based organizations, serving as a Mason Ambassador, working in the George Mason Office of Admissions, and volunteering with our foundation. Robert is now an elementary school teacher and has been selected as the Outstanding New Teacher of the Year in his Virginia school district. He is about to receive his M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus in Elementary Education and is researching Ph.D programs.

Robert’s college-bound pathway has several important components that any student who wants to qualify for more institutional scholarships and avoid student loan debt should consider. Click below to learn what you should be doing.

As a high school junior, the book, our online curriculum, and our 1-on-1 advising guided Robert (pictured on page 2) in developing the “Body of Work” that he would present to his colleges as a high school senior. Following are examples of what you should do PRIOR to the beginning of your senior year of high school, with page references in the book for further reference:

• Understand that your college application to most colleges, particularly selective colleges, will undergo a holistic review across the areas of academics, extracurricular activities, personal qualities, and intangibles (page 5)
• Effective college planning follows a process of backwards mapping, i.e., “Beginning with the End in Mind” (page 9)
• Your résumé and your profile provide an importance reference point of your competitiveness as a college or scholarship applicant (page 10)
• See the examples of Kimberly Hadaway’s high school profile and résumé that resulted in her being offered 6 full scholarships (Amherst College, Duke University, Princeton University, Vanderbilt University, Washington & Lee University, and Williams College) (pages 12-13)
• View Kimberly’s video discussing the process (https://youtu.be/NaBLrN2H9xI?si=kCos0_OkV9cYaIGp)
• See the examples of Kristen Starks high school profile and résumé that resulted in her being offered 3 full scholarships (Tuskegee University, and the University of Richmond, Wake Forest University) (pages 14-15)
• View Kristen’s video discussing the process of packaging (https://youtu.be/gCgPDKmWu14?si=W2qV72dYTSocFjTg)

Start building your college list based on your aspirations and your family’s financial need (page 17)