Search this site:
   Go

2008-2009 School Year Success Stories

High School: Boston Community Leadership Academy
Adviser: Jenna Cassoli
Student: Arielys

Arielys is a star student at BCLA. She has great academics, is involved with her class council, and provides a consistent friendly presence around the school. After working with her a few times, I brought the TORCH scholarship program at Northeastern to her attention. She wanted to go for it, so we sat down for almost two hours so I could get to know her better and write a good recommendation. Once I had learned more about her life, I easily wrote five pages strongly recommending her to the program. She got an interview based on my letter, and she did really well at it.
Read more of Arielys' incredible journey >>

High School: East Boston High School
Adviser: Lillian O’Donnell
Student: Kevin

Kevin came in with a big grin when he was accepted to the competitive state college of his choice. I got in, he said, clutching the paper in his hand.

Kevin had been one of the harder students to get through to. He would come in diligently for a few months then go off the radar. When I invited him on a field trip to visit what would be his future college, he had just recently told me he was thinking of joining the Air Force.
Read more of Kevin’s amazing tale >>

High School: Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School
Adviser: Ashlee White
Student: Emily

Emily Mari Rodriguez is a senior at the Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Emily is a first generation, low income, English Language Leaner student. Defining Emily as an ELE student means that English was not her primary language, in fact it is Spanish. This can make for a great deal of difficultly when Emily is trying to master her composition skills, and be at the proficiency level that the state requires.
Learn more about Emily’s success >>

2007-2008 School Year Success Stories

High School: East Boston High School
College: Bunker Hill Community College
Adviser: Lillian O'Donnell
Student: Phat

I met Phat at a financial aid workshop that some of our programs at the high school had put together. Slumped in his chair, he seemed disinterested. His sweatshirt hood shadowed his face and an Ipod earbud hung out of one ear. Whether it was high school "cool" theatrics or a genuine indifference, I was unsure, but I knew he must have cared about college to make it to the event. By the close of the night, I had mostly spoken to his mother, a Vietnamese immigrant, while we filled out his FAFSA worksheet. I said goodbye to Phat and told him to come see me in my office during school some time, so we could talk about applying to colleges. The very next day, to my surprise, he came to my office. We talked about private and public schools and all the parts of an application. When we got to the essay piece, it produced an ennui similar to what I had witnessed at our financial aid night. The essay is your chance to be creative, I explained. You can detail a traumatic event in your life, or you can wax on about your love for skateboarding. It can be as light or as serious as you want it to be, as long as it is reflective of who you are and what you want them to know about you. "Really?" he asked.
Continue reading Phat's inspirational story >>

High School: Springfield High School of Science and Technology
College: American International College
Adviser: Nate Cleveland
Students: Michael, Claudia, and Jong Ho

During the course of the year I have had the opportunity to work with a lot of very interesting and talented students, all of who have provided me with ample material to write about their successes. Instead of choosing just one student to talk about, I want to highlight several of the students and how through working with the College Advising Corps their futures were altered.
Learn about Michael, Claudia and Jong Ho’s fascinating stories >>

High School: Drury High School
College: Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Adviser: Denise Wiseman
Student: Brett

Brett was the first student who came into my office on his own accord; apparently my cohort of students had been talking about me. It was roughly ten minutes into the lunch period when I first saw him bouncing into the Guidance Office headed straight for my door. "Miss Wiseman" he queried expectantly. "Yessssssssss." I welcomed him to a chair and he began: "You know Ronin? Well, he told me that you've helped him out a lot, so I was wondering if you could help me get into college." I chuckled a bit at his request because students always came to me demanding the same result: Get me into college. Forget the past three years of work they had completed and the standardized tests for which they had studied. Their respective melodrama always led them to believe that I had the magic touch, the magical essay waiting for them, or the ability to sway an admissions decision.
Read about Brett’s success >>