September brought a new college partnership and new WISE scholars into our education work. We announced a partnership with Occidental College in Los Angeles while welcoming students from Altadena Girls, Debbie Allen Dance Academy and the Texas Rangers Youth Academy. Together, these developments connect the beginning of a scholar’s WISE journey with opportunities to explore what comes after secondary school.
Exploring college with Occidental
In September, we announced our partnership with Occidental College through the WISE Scholarship Program™. The partnership will offer scholars opportunities for campus visits, admissions programming, application support and college preparation. Our September newsletter also highlighted early exposure to college life and resources to help students understand the expectations of a highly selective institution.
For students considering their next educational step, these are opportunities to learn about a college and prepare for an application. The announced opportunities focus on college exploration, preparation and application support. Our focus is on helping scholars approach their choices with more information and preparation.
The range of planned activities matters. Campus visits offer an introduction to the setting in which students might study. Admissions programming and application support address another part of the process: understanding how to prepare for consideration. We look forward to developing these opportunities with Occidental as scholars explore their options.
Welcoming scholars through community partners
At the same time, we welcomed new scholars through organisations with which they already have a connection. Our September newsletter introduced incoming students from Altadena Girls, Debbie Allen Dance Academy and the Texas Rangers Youth Academy. Their welcome marked the start of a WISE journey designed to support educational, personal and career development.
In September, we introduced the newest WISE scholars from Debbie Allen Dance Academy. Our welcome centred on the mentorship, resources and opportunities we look forward to sharing with them as they develop their skills and consider their futures.
The Altadena Girls orientation brought scholars and their families together to learn about WISE. In our September update, we shared how the gathering introduced the program’s resources and its educational, mentorship and personal development opportunities. Including families gave them an introduction to the support available as the new cohort joined the WISE community.
Support that begins before an application
Our September newsletter described the support available to incoming scholars: individualised guidance, college preparation, financial literacy, wellness, career exploration, psychometric profiling and scholarship opportunities. These areas provide the context for the new cohorts’ participation. The college partnership adds another place for scholars to explore as they prepare for further education.
We work with community organisations to reach young people, and with education partners to help them explore future study. September’s developments showed both parts of that approach: welcoming students and families into the program, and building opportunities for college exploration and preparation.
We thank Occidental College and our community partners for their part in this work. We look forward to getting to know our new scholars and supporting their learning as they begin this stage of their WISE journey.