I would like to share in this post how my mentee Darion W. obtained over $500,000 in scholarship offers. He will attend the University of Illinois, Urbana debt-free.
I met Darion through the Trio program at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, Illinois in 2014 as a rising senior at Bloom Trail High School. He enrolled in the dual-credit program at Prairie State, a community college where he took college courses for credit. He earned 16 college credits. Since he was involved in so many activities at school I thought it was important that he get a jump on his scholarship search during the summer.
Darion internalized the value of an education at an early age and was highly motivated to do well in school. His preparation began in elementary and middle school. I enjoyed working with him because he listened to me, followed my instructions and took my advice. He took the initiative himself to research and find scholarships and did not once whine or complain about the numerous edits he had to make. He had a mission to find and apply for as many scholarships as he could because he knew his parents did not have the money to fund his education.
He met the criteria for the Gates Millennium Scholarship, so we focused on that one first. After all, it would cover his tuition and fees for 4 years. We began working right away on the eight essay questions the Gates requires.
All the hard work he put in paid off for him big time. In addition to the Gates Scholarship, he has received over $30,000 in scholarships and a laptop from local organizations. I am amazed at the number of local opportunities that are overlooked by students. Charity does begin at home.
He plans to major in Accounting at the University of Illinois. He is enjoying his summer visiting family and friends and will hit the ground running in mid-August. He will not have to take out any loans, will not have to work during school unless he wants to and most importantly, will graduate debt free. Way to go Darion!