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Estelle Davis
Dorchester Academy &
UMass Boston

Education: Bachelor of Arts, Women’s Studies and Community Health, Tufts University, 2009

Why did you join the College Advising Corps? I joined because I believe that it is the duty of higher education to ensure that every person (regardless of their income level, family history, or what high school they attend) has the opportunity to fulfill their academic potential. I come from a family where out of 93 cousins; I am only one of five that has a bachelor degree. I know that many people are barred from success in college not because they are not smart enough, but because they lack the financial and social resources necessary for success in our current higher education system. I am working against those barriers to success.

How are individual students affected by this program? I see myself as a translator between two different social systems. Students benefit from personalized attention because many students that the College advising Corps works with are the first people in their family to attend college; they need institutional support to help them understand the college application process. The College Advising Corps provides the support to help these students navigate the college system more easily.

Why is it important to create a relationship between high schools and college campuses/secondary schools and higher education? High schools benefit from college campuses because colleges are a potent source of resources, intellect, and inspiration. For instance, when college students get involved in high schools, high school students get excited about going to college; they are better able to visualize what college life is like and why it is so important [and fun]. Students realize that going to college is possible and not just a far off dream. Colleges benefit from involvement in the high schools as a way of anchoring themselves in their host communities and improving community relations. These relationships also provide a pipeline for students that might be a great fit for a certain college.

How is your greater school community affected by this program? My school community benefits from having a College Adviser because I help to create a college-going culture in the entire school. College access does not just happen in a College and Career Center, it happens when teachers link their assignments to a career, when English teachers assign personal statements, when principals say in assemblies that the skills students gain in high school will make them be successful in college, and when everyone puts up posters and bulletin boards about college. In addition to one on one counseling with students, I work with the school to make college preparation an integral part of the campus climate.

Why should there be so much emphasis on college access and the opportunity for higher education? As a society, we need to prioritize college access as an opportunity for everyone. The statistics about the benefits of a college education are significant; we know that on average, the college graduate makes $1 million more over their lifetime than people with only a high school diploma. For this reason, we need to make sure that as many people as possible can take the pathways to success in college. First generation and low income students have a particularly difficult time assessing college; my work in the college advising Corps is to make college a possibility for people who have not historically had access to higher education.