Student Profile – Omar Dixon, Jr.
Student Profile
Jocelyne L. (St. Petersburg High School)
Hello, I’m Jocelyne. I serve on the youth leadership board with Omar, a high school junior from Paulding County, Georgia. Omar is the Social Media Manager for our program. He is an incredibly hard worker and is having an incredible college-bound journey. He joined the cohort program as a high school freshman after reading an article about Kimberly Hadaway, a College Planning Cohort alumni who graduated from his high school. He thought that it was amazing that she had been offered 6 full scholarships to some of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the country. However, what caught his eye in the article was that Kimberly, like himself, was a student of color from a single-parent, lower income family. He believed that if a student like him earn multiple full college scholarships, that he too, could seize the opportunity.
Kimberly’s story inspired him and her accomplishments motivated him to join the cohort and to commit himself to following all of the guidance offered by Mr. and Mrs. Wynn—after all, they were the experts who guided Kimberly. One of the first messages that resonated with him was that colleges are looking for more than just grades and test scores, so he committed himself to pursuing leadership opportunities and engaging in meaningful community service. He served as a College Planning Cohort intern and discussion group leader before applying for a position on the youth leadership board. He immediately had a community impact on the board through his mentorship of other first generation students and as a content creator for several video projects.
The projects that Omar has worked on have not only benefitted others and expanded the community outreach of the program, but have given him opportunities to, in his words,
Develop a ‘body of work’ to which I can refer in essays and interview that distinguish me from other applicants.” Clearly, the community impact that he has had through his leadership and service in our program has not gone unnoticed. He has been selected as a Yale Young Global Scholar, QuestBridge Scholar, and most recently, a LEDA Scholar. In his perspective: “It has been a mind blowing experience for me because it just shows that all the goals I set in 9th grade, and the pathway that I have taken due to the helpful, insightful, and crucial guidance from Mr. and Mrs. Wynn have come to fruition.”
Omar’s story is more than a success story, it is a story of believing that the example that Kimberly provided for him, that through his success, he can provide such an example from other students. Omar notes,
The cohort curriculum is full of the success stories of other students and provides a roadmap to the type of classes, grades, test scores, leadership, and service that can lead to full college scholarships. Rather than looking at these incredible students and saying, ‘I can’t be like them,’ everyone student should say, ‘Thank you for showing me the type of student that I should become if I want to be awarded a full college scholarship!
I believe that Omar has followed Kimberly’s example and that he is providing an example for others to follow. As Mr. and Mrs. Wynn frequently say, “Trust the Process.” I am inspired by how his incredible perseverance, and the cohort’s guidance, have driven him to be intentional in his actions to become a scholar in multiple prestigious programs. While Omar joined the program in hopes of being offered at least one full scholarship, he is now on a pathway to multiple full scholarship opportunities. We look forward to a followup article about Omar’s journey this time next year!
As a current 9th grader, I am looking forward to sharing my own college-bound story in 2024. However, as the president of the youth leadership board, I am looking forward to submitting articles about our many cohort students and their accomplishments. Like my older sister, I am not only grateful to be participating in a program that is guiding us along pathways to full college scholarships, but supporting and encouraging us to grow into leaders who seek to have a community impact.