The College and Career Ready Podcast | empowering students for the careers of tomorrow
Join your host Sonia Cacique on a transformative journey preparing high school and college students for real world careers, equipping them with practical skills, professional experiences, and career guidance.
As a dedicated career guidance counselor, career coach, and education leader, Sonia has spent her entire career empowering the next generation for the future workforce. With her expertise, she helps students develop self-awareness, motivation, and career guidance, building the essential skills needed for success in both their educational and future professional journeys.
Coach Sonia is ready to shift the focus from GPA, class rank, and grades to career connections, self-identity, character development, and real-world skills. She aims to challenge the traditional narratives and provide students with a comprehensive approach to education and career readiness. Changing lives for our next gens, one student at a time.
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The College and Career Ready Podcast | empowering students for the careers of tomorrow
Bonus: The Art of Local Scholarship Hunting, a Hidden Secret Google Search Scholarship Tip, and a Scholarship Opportunity for College Students Away From Home
In today's bonus episode, we dive into strategies and opportunities to unveil hidden scholarships. We explore tips on finding scholarships within your community and highlight a scholarship opportunity for travel credit or vouchers. Stay tuned till the end for all the details!
Episode Mentioned: 52. Maximizing Financial Aid: FAFSA Updates, Scholarship Strategies, and Money-Saving Tips w/the College Funding Queen
Scholarship mentioned: Lanzate Travel Awards Program - Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (hacu.net)
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"Stay well, be present, and enjoy the journey"
Welcome to today's bonus episode. Today, I will be sharing a scholarship strategy that one of our guests, the College Funding Queen, shared with us on episode 52. I will share my personal tip on how to find scholarships available within your community, and I will also be sharing a scholarship opportunity for travel credit or vouchers to travel back home from college. So make sure you stay with us until the end. Our first scholarship strategy that was shared to us by the college funding queen. She was a guest on episode number 52. She shared with us how to use a more strategic approach to finding scholarships. You see, it's not just about listing and sharing with you various websites. It's about teaching you how to fish so you can reel in as many opportunities as possible. So are you ready for this tip? Okay, let's dive right in.
Speaker 1:Many families often make the mistake of only searching for scholarships tailored to high school seniors or juniors. They'll go on Google and they'll type in scholarships for high school seniors. But here's the thing. Everyone's doing it. Everybody's typing the exact same thing. So how do you stand out from the crowd? First off, don't just settle for the first page of search results. That's where everyone goes. Instead, try digging deeper, maybe even to the seventh page. That's where you might find hidden gems and scholarships that are often overlooked. Secondly, be specific in your search. Don't just type high school college scholarships. Get personal, use what Abby Sola, our guest, calls the profile stacking method. Think about your unique qualities, interests and goals. For example, instead of a generic search, try something like African-American women studying policy on the East Coast. By narrowing down your search criteria, you're more likely to find scholarships tailored to you, like the Bill Gates Foundation or the Ronald McDonald Scholarship, but you'll discover lesser known opportunities that suit you perfectly. Remember, it's not about finding any resource. It's about finding the right resource for you. So next time you're on the hunt for scholarships, think strategically. Think about how you can cast your net wider and reel in those hidden treasures. If you want to listen to more of the tips that Abby Sola shared with us about scholarship college funding, fafsa, make sure you check out episode number 52.
Speaker 1:Okay, this next tip I'm going to be sharing with you is my own personal experience about finding local scholarships within your own community. Two places that I would recommend, first and foremost, your local bank. Community. Two places that I would recommend. First and foremost, your local bank. Ask your parents or if you already have a bank account. Go to your local bank and ask them if they provide scholarships for high school students or college students. You might find an opportunity there. The second place, and this is a little bit more of a wider net go to your chamber of commerce. Go to your local chamber of commerce and ask them if they know of any scholarship opportunities within the community or the organizations that they work with or businesses that they might know that offer scholarships to the local community.
Speaker 1:So what does this mean? So doing this, you're actually going directly with a community resource that's probably going to have maybe even less applicants than your general Google search. So make sure you check out your local community and next time when someone asks you or your parent what you plan to major in or what do you want to be for the rest of your life which, by the way, that's such a loaded question when you're still trying to discover yourself Just take a deep breath and let them know that you're still exploring your options and interests. But what you really are looking for right now, and maybe they can help you with, is by sharing any scholarship opportunities that they may know of or come across. That will be a great way to turn the conversation around and let them know how they can better help you to reach your career goals. Okay, so that brings me to my scholarship shout out of the day.
Speaker 1:This scholarship opportunity was shared with me by one of our listeners and recipient of this scholarship award. Thank you, andy, for sharing this scholarship with me and allowing me to share it with our community. This scholarship is the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, in partnership with Southwest Airlines. They present their 20th Annual Lanzate or Take Off Higher Education Travel Award Program. This scholarship is designed to support students in their academic journey by providing round-trip flights if you are attending a college 200 miles or more away from home. If you think this is another scholarship that is only for students with high academic profiles, think again. Eligibility requirements are as following Students must be currently enrolled in a college or university at least 200 miles away from their designated home.
Speaker 1:They must also maintain good academic standing, with a minimum GPA of 2.5, and be at least 18 years of age or older. And, of course, all federal air travel regulations must be followed. The applications are now open and it's only open until April 26. Let me repeat that it's only open until April 26. Did you jot that down? Because that's only what maybe two weeks away. So please make sure you take advantage of this opportunity.
Speaker 1:I encourage all eligible students to apply. To be eligible, you must be enrolled in a college or university located at least 200 miles away from your home. Applicants must meet the mentioned requirements and submit the necessary essay as part of their application. If selected, students will receive round-trip tickets on southwest airlines to travel between their home and college or university. This is a fantastic opportunity, my friends, to ease the financial burden of travel for all of you trying to pursue higher education. Selected students will receive four round-trip tickets to use for their travel needs. Remember the deadline for applications is April 26, 2024 at 11.59 pm, central Standard Time. Incomplete or late applicants will not be considered, so make sure you submit everything on time.
Speaker 1:As part of the application process, students will need to write personal essays addressing specific questions. These essays should highlight socioeconomic needs and may be written in Spanish, with an English translation provided. Apply now and spread the word to fellow students who may benefit from this program. I will have the direct link on our show notes. All right, my friend.
Speaker 1:Well, before we end today's episode, I want to extend a special invitation to all of our listeners. If you know of any scholarship opportunity that you think would benefit our community, I'd love to hear from you. Whether it's a scholarship tailored to a specific field, community or interest, your contribution could make a huge difference in someone's educational journey. So if you have any scholarship opportunities in mind, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. You can connect and reach out to me via social media, on either of my two favorite places, which is Instagram or LinkedIn, or you can also send me an email to info at collegecareerreadyorg. Your input is invaluable and by sharing these opportunities, we can help each of our students' educational goals. Thank you for being part of our community and I look forward to hearing from you soon. That's all for today. Until next time, stay well, be present and enjoy the journey. I'll talk to you next week.
