Masterclass: The Importance of Community Service for College Success

Welcome everybody. We'll get started right on time. And so please grab something to take notes and hopefully a cup of coffee or a cup of tea. And welcome Miss Carrie Anderson. Carrie and I will be leading you through the presentation today. And if you have any questions along the way, Carrie will help you either get them answered or make sure that I can do so. So like I said, we're going to get started straight away. We have about a couple more minutes while we're waiting. If everybody can put where they're located and the age of their student, that will help me to make sure that this speaks directly to you. So where are you located and the ages or age or ages of your students? Your children would be super helpful. I, I think it's important. Every state does this a little bit different in their public colleges. And so I want to be able to speak to that. Awesome. Southern California, 10th grade. Perfect time to get started. Love it. Um, so we'll talk about things that you could be doing with your child. Michigan, 14, excellent. So that will be helpful. Um, I have quite a few students in both of those areas, so that's going to be helpful. I have a lot of recommendations. Anybody else, um, want to share where they're from and the age of their children? 9th grade, California. Excellent. We have lots of opportunity, and that's what I want to share with you today is the, the what can you do and the why and the how. I'm not going to hold anything back, so it's important if you want to gather this information that, um, I want to be able to speak directly to your needs. So as people continue to hop on, hopefully, Carrie, you can get them to put their, their state. Every state is unique, you know, Florida and Texas and California. We have some really weird state stuff going on in our public schools. And so I want to speak to that because it's not across the board. And even if you live in Michigan and you want to go to UCLA, it's important to know what are the unique things that your family will see on that college application. So we're at the top of the hour, and I want to go ahead and honor your time and go ahead and get started. So with that said, if you— please put your state. Perfect. Yes, please put your state, the age of your student. At the end of the presentation, we have a great gift. There's no cost to it. It's just a great opportunity for your family. And so please stay on till the end so we can share that, that wonderful gift with you. All right, so let's go ahead and jump in and start this presentation. All right, so today, um, slideshow. Here we go. Today you have requested information about the importance of community service for college success, and that's exactly what I want to give you because you took the time to say, yes, I need this, and that's very important. So let's go ahead and jump in, and I like to start with a couple of stories. I think it's important to realize that you're not alone. And a lot of times it feels very lonely when you're trying to navigate this. As a matter of fact, I had a student yesterday say, Shellee, I can't wait to tell everybody about your program, but you're like the best kept secret. You know, you're my favorite babysitter that I don't want to share. And I'm like, that's kind of a tragedy, but I understand the competitiveness of this, college admissions process. So let's go ahead and start. So a family just like yours, hopefully you can resonate with one of these stories. So the first story I want to share is my own story. How did I get in to college admissions? It really was my firstborn, the, the young man in the middle. This is at his Harvard graduation, and it was a very important day for us. Not that he just graduated from Harvard debt-free, but that he absolutely lived his dream. So this young man, he was always pretty good at school. He was a typical firstborn and he pretty much raised himself. I know it sounds strange, but he was very easy to raise. And I remember being that parent in preschool or Mommy and Me and thinking, wow, parents, you need to get a grip on your kids. Like, what's wrong? And then I had my second child, which is right next to him, and she was a biter. And so my firstborn and my secondborn, they taught me a lot. I have 4 in total, 2 biological, 2 step, and an Italian exchange student. So after, after your, my story, hopefully you'll, you'll resonate. So Ryan came home from 8th grade and he says, Mom, I know exactly what I want to do and exactly where I want to go to college. And I'm like, Wow, that's outstanding. I had no idea. I picked 2 colleges based on the location and, um, I changed my major 5 times. It was a bit of a disaster. And so please share with me. And he says, yeah, I want to go to one of those top tier Ivy, I think they're called Ivy things. And I want to be a brain surgeon. Can you help me? And honestly, I don't know how that made you feel, parents, but I was terrified. I was the first to go to college on both sides of my family, and we help lots of families who were educated in another country and, and are trying to do better for their families. And so that's the first thing I want to share with you is I was no more prepared than anybody on this webinar. That was 17 years ago. And so, um, I said, well, are you sure? And he says, uh, Absolutely. But I need your help. I have no idea how to get there. And I said, okay. And so, like every other parent, I started researching like crazy. But 17 years ago, there was no AI. There was no Google there. I mean, maybe there was, but I wasn't on it. And so I was reading books like crazy. And what I found was a lot of conflicting information. And a lot of no information. So I did the next best thing. I made an appointment with this high school counselor, and I said to my son, will you tell her what you told me? And he says, yeah, I want to be a brain surgeon. I want to go to one of those top colleges. Can you help me? And I will never forget because she said to him, why would you waste your time or money being a doctor? They don't make money anymore. And his eyes got big and he looked at me like shocked. And he's like, now what are we going to do, Mom? And so I thanked her for her time and I said, I guess we're on our own. And as we were walking out, my son says, now what? So the now what was a big heavy load on my shoulders. And what I did is I went back to school and I got my master's degree. Then I became an independent certified college consultant through UC San Diego, started touring 25 colleges this semester. Yes, I was obsessed. Spent between 30 and 35 hours a week on top of my full-time career and had 33 spreadsheets. And when my son— I, I can tell you stories upon stories, but when he graduated, He had 7 full-ride offers. His full-ride offer to USC opened the window to a full-ride offer to Harvard. And so that young man went off to Harvard, and that's a story on its own. I would love to share with you another time. But what I will say is he knew exactly what he wanted to do. His application was a standout story. It was positioned to leave no stone unturned, that a college admissions reader would know exactly who he is, what matters to him, what he advocates for, and they would know his character. So that's Ryan's story. Ryan is now an orthopedic surgeon, a 5th-year resident at UCLA. Just got engaged. Total debt for everything is $30,000. So just saying, in his first year as a surgeon, he will be debt-free. And why is that important? Because if he didn't get, uh, out of college without debt, he would not have gone to medical school. It was our family's, um, promise to each other that we were not going to use our retirement We were not going to take out loans. We were going to navigate this process to the best of our ability. That is why I'm having this opportunity for you. But before we jump in further, I want to tell you about a student I met with yesterday and a wonderful young man. His dad called me. We had an appointment in the morning, and as we were talking, he's like, my son needs to hear this. And my wife needs to hear this. So we made an appointment for the evening and I talked to the whole family and man, it was such— we talked for so long. It was like an hour and a half. I lost my voice. And why I really enjoyed it is because this young man was in 9th grade and his parents were super frustrated because he was spending a lot of time on grades and, and only getting B+, A-, and really not hitting his stride and not really putting all the effort his parents thought he could. And when I talked to the student, the student didn't even understand what college was. He didn't understand his why. Why was it important to him? It wasn't until we started talking about a subject he cared about, and that was money. And you should see this young man light up when we started talking about how he wanted to navigate life and the money he wanted to make and the impact he wanted to make. And you could see him coming alive and getting excited. And his parents were looking at me, and I said, have you ever been on a college campus? And he said, no. And I said, then why are you working so hard to get good grades? And every— the room was like quiet. And he looked at his daddy, points, And he said, 'Cause my dad told me I had to.' And that dad, such a wonderful father, he said, 'But this is about you.' And so there was this big disconnect between the student seeming to the parent that they weren't all in and they weren't interested, and the student who was like, 'I don't know why I'm working so hard. I don't even really like high school that much. Why would I want to do some more?' So why do I tell you those two stories is because I have five kids and every one of them has a different story. My firstborn, his path was Harvard, UC San Diego Medical School, UCLA residency. His sister, dream school, University of Alabama. She went in and out debt-free. She, um, is now a pediatric registered nurse. My third, my stepson, just graduated from SFSU, and he graduated debt-free. And my, my fourth, my stepdaughter, she is at AAU in the Czech Republic of Prague getting a dual US and European business international degree for $27,000 total and touring the world. So Why do I share this? Every child has their own story, and community service is the story you tell college admissions. Many people get it flip-flopped. They're like, we're just gonna go try to fit in a ton of service hours, and that's gonna be good enough. We're gonna check that box off the application. And we're done. Unfortunately, colleges know exactly that story. They know that your child's not doing it from their heart because it's all random. It's tutoring, it's feeding the homeless, it's, it's doing whatever the other student is doing. It's not telling college admissions anything about your child, and it's not filling any, any gaps. So I'm going to go ahead and dive into the presentation because On my last presentation, somebody wanted slides, even though I could talk about this all day long. So let's go ahead and get started. Please put any questions in the chat. So here are the questions that many people ask, and I broke it down into 4 categories. So can you please put in the chat which of these you want me to speak about? Do you want me to speak about community service and college applications? You can just put yes. Do you want to learn how admissions officers view community service? Do you want to understand the impact of service on acceptance rate and being different? Do you want to understand quality versus quantity, the importance of a meaningful engagement? Maybe that's not what you care about. Maybe you've checked that box. Is this you? Put in the chat key— you want to learn key skills developed through volunteering. So maybe you want to help your child figure out who they are. If that's you, please put yes in the chat so I can speak about that. Do you want to help them understand how to be a leader and the importance of teamwork? Do you want to help them to understand how to have time management and keep a commitment? Do you want to help them be a problem solver and be able to adapt? Do you want to help them be— understand what life is in the real world and, and what success looks like? If that's you, please put yes. Maybe that's not you. What about this one? Are you interested in finding meaningful service opportunities? Maybe you, you really don't even care about service. I had somebody tell me once that it was free child labor. Okay, that I'm not here to convince you one way or another. But maybe that wasn't you. Maybe you're here. Would you like to find out, um, finding meaningful service opportunities? Like, how do you assess their interest in their skills? How do you research local organizations and causes? How do you have virtual volunteering options and create your own projects? I'm happy to talk about that too. If that's you, please put it in the chat. The next one is— so if those 3 are not you, maybe this is you— showcasing your service on college applications. So maybe your family has done service, and maybe you're just wondering, how in the world are we going to put this on our application to stand out? So would you like to learn how to craft compelling essays with your experience? If that's you, put yes. If you would like to highlight service in your resume and activities list, please put yes. If none of these are what you're here for, can you please put in the chat what it is? Because your time is valuable, and I want to answer what you came to receive. So please put it in the chat and I will look at it, I promise, and make sure we cover it. All right, moving on. This is the problem. So right before I got on the call, I said, you know, I haven't Googled this in a while. Let me see what Google has to say. So if you Google The same thing I just asked. So the Google question is right here. What is the importance of community service on college applications? And this is what I found on just the first page. And I gotta tell you, if I was a 17-year-old, 15, 16, 17-year-old, I would, I would throw up my hands and be like, I don't have time for this. If I was a busy working parent, I would say I don't have time for this. So if you don't have time for this, I get it. I have walked in your shoes. I completely get it. So let's talk about for a second, put in the chat, do you think your child can come up with a passion project on their own? Their own. Yes or no? Because if you say yes, I can take the presentation one way. If you say no, I can take the presentation another way. Everything we do at College Ready is completely custom, so I'm not here to just be a robot and tell you X, Y, and Z. You can Google it. So this is part of the problem. When I met with the family yesterday, They told me their child has no idea what they want to do for a major. The child said, yes, I do. I want to make money. And he had no idea what kind of career that would be and therefore what college major and therefore what college would be a good academic, social, and financial fit. So all of the sudden there was this huge, oh my goodness. What are we gonna do? Interesting enough, I'm in Google. So when I was looking at all of the different information that you can Google, here it is. There's books, there's videos, there's the scariest one. I'm not gonna lie, was right here, Reddit. That one is so incredibly all over the place. Um, it's a deep, deep, deep dive, and you have to be very, very careful. So just know that if you are planning on Googling this, you will end up with this. Let me simplify the process for you. So because, like you, I have hundreds of students that I've taken through this process, I know that community service equals money. I know that when my son wrote about his service project, it got him a full ride offer. And College Ready students have earned over $29.3 million in merit scholarships in just a couple of years. And we don't take thousands of students. We actually don't take every student who asks us. We, we really think it's important for it to be a good fit to support the family, because we're not just about saying you're good at math, go to MIT and take a loan. That's, that's just not our belief. So what we offer is a wonderful program that I'm going to share with you at the end, because it's my passion. I'm a part of the Society of Financial Awareness, and my students and I have deep passion to serve families all over the world, and this is part of what we do. So today's discussion is going to be ways your child can find their passion and turn it into scholarships, use passion to lead others and create positive change. Use their passion to position themselves with a standout strategy, and ultimately the outcome is their college application resume, um, will get them scholarships. It will help them get a career that they actually enjoy. The problem is, and I'm going to just call the elephant in the room, that is when we try to do it as a parent with our child. They think we come with preconceived notions and judgment. At least my 4 did, or my 5 did. And so if you've been asking your child, hey, do you want to go do this? And they're like, no. Do you want to do this? No. Want to do this? They roll their eyes. Want to do this? And they're like, uh, it is truly because you may be passionate about this thing. Or you're just trying to be helpful, but it, it doesn't resonate at all. So yesterday I told the story to this young family. I said, think about this. If you went into work and your boss said, I need you to work an additional 200 hours a week this year, and that was it. Would you be like, what? Like, I don't even understand. What does that mean? Will I get a raise? Will I get paid more? Well, no, but hopefully it will help you in your future. That is what your child is hearing you say. All of our students in our program, our goal is for each of them to do at least 200 service hours, not to torture them not because we think they're not busy or lazy. It's because it helps them figure out who they are, what matters. It gives them a story to write an essay about, to tell colleges that they are going to make an impact in this world and that they need them at their college. This is not just checking a box, and if that is what you want, that is not going to get them into their dream school and certainly not going to get them scholarships. So let's continue on. You're in the right place, place if you would like to learn how to break through the mental and physical barriers that hold your child back so they can be ready to stand out. So here's the thing, a lot of this comes from the unknown. If your family has not served a lot in the past, they don't even know what service is. And I learned that firsthand. If your family serves in an area that your child has zero passion for, they don't get it. If your child says, yes, I want to serve, I have no idea how, when, where, why, and they have to figure it out on their own, they're not gonna do it. So I like to stop and pause before you go any further. I'd like you to make a little note for yourself and, and think as we're going through this presentation, will your child do this? Will you do this? Do you expect somebody else to do this? Because with expectations comes letdown. We cannot expect your high school counselor to do any of this, nor your school, nor your church or place that you go to be filled. So just think about who is going to do this because it won't just get done on its own. So the first thing you need to do is help your child find their passion. And have a purpose. And this is so important because what I want to share with you is what we call See Our Future Now. I created this during COVID because families for the first time realized that their high schools were not doing this. They thought that they were, but they realized they weren't. And now parents were like, Now it falls on my shoulders, and I have no idea how to help. So here is how you can navigate this on your own. So it's important to think about, are you a family that may be struggling with picking a major, a college, or career? Or maybe you want to do college without debt. So think about How are you going to do this? I, as the founder of College Ready NCR Future Now, have been navigating this for families for the last 17 years. My passion is to help you and your family get into the best fit college and graduate without debt. That is what I've done for all 4 of my own children and thousands of other students as well. Last year, our students received over $9.2 million based on their Passion with Purpose projects. So are you going to navigate this on your own, or how will you do it? We at College Ready support our students from all over the world to navigate this— the how, the who, the what, the where, the, the when, and the why. And that's what I'm going to show you if you want to do this on your own. So the first problem is a parent says, my teen has no plans for their future. And that's okay, but not forever. So at some point, you need to help them get there. Will they do it? Will you do it? Or will somebody else do it? Go ahead and put that on your Notes. So the first thing you need to figure out is they need to know who they are, then what matters to them, how others see them, how they see themselves. Then they need to create a career map on how does that all come together. Then they need to figure out which colleges or trade school or whatever their plan is, is going to give them a return on investment and financial freedom. And then they want to put it all together and understand the steps, the roadmap to get there. Like I said, is it college? Is it a trade school? Or is it what? Gap year is not a plan without a gap year plan. It's just procrastination. The solution is assessments, personal communication with qualified support, recommending college majors, careers, and we can even help them figure out, will a robot be doing their job in the future? The next program is, you're a parent and you have no idea where to start. So the first thing you're going to look at is Do you have an academic strategy? Do you have a strengths and career plan? Do you have a testing strategy, a leadership strategy, an extracurricular strategy? Do you know who and how to ask for recommenders? Do you have an essay strategy? Do you have a plan for when, how, and how often you will work on your Passion with Purpose project? Do you need support one-to-one, or can you navigate this on your own? Do you need the support of a village, or will you do this on your own? And how will you navigate this on the FAFSA, the CSS Profile, and your Student Aid Index? This is all how it will help you on your college application. The knowledge will simplify your process. The resources will help you stand out. So there's also plenty of opportunities. You need a testing strategy, you need scholarship plan, you need an essay plan, you need to demonstrate interest, and you need FAFSA support. So here's the next thing. You're feeling overwhelmed and you're like, Shellee, that's great. I Googled it and yes, it made me more overwhelmed. I've tried this on my own, but my teenager thinks I don't know anything. So now we're both overwhelmed. And I try to tell my child, they're 17, they need to figure this out. And now they're overwhelmed. So now everybody's overwhelmed. We're all frustrated. And I'm not sleeping at night. So what I've done is I've created for our families The Vault. And inside The Vault is 17 years of my intellectual property. It gives you internships, research projects, summer programs. It's all in here for your support, so you don't have to Google it and wonder. So just know there is support out there. It's just deciding on how you're going to approach it. So speaking of overwhelm, in an effort to try to get you out of overwhelm, I want to give you the puzzle pieces to put the puzzle together. The first thing you need to do with your passion and your purpose is to create an academically rigorous 4-year academic plan. The next thing you need to do is to create a testing strategy for your child. The next thing is the passion with purpose, and I'm going to deep dive into that in about 1 minute. Then it's coming up with how will your child lead others to create change? And show colleges that they would be a valuable candidate at their school. The next one is their extracurriculars. What is good time? What is wasted time? The young man I met with yesterday gave, gave up all his extracurriculars to try to keep his GPA. Well, unfortunately, on the Common App, there's 10 places for activities, honors, and awards.— that child will have none of them filled in. On the UC app, there's 20. That child will have nothing. So when he is competing with all of the other students, he's going to be at a massive disadvantage. So understanding what is valuable extracurriculars, what is not valuable, and how to balance that to make for a wonderful high school experience. You know, high school can be fun. Um, I learned at my son's high school graduation that kids didn't even realize that he was a Harvard-qualified student. As a matter of fact, the young man next to me at graduation said, "I didn't even know that kid was smart." And I thought how interesting that is because he enjoyed his high school years. Recommendations from teachers is incredibly important, and students do not understand how to create those bonds and those relationships. Who will do that? The student, you, or who else? The teacher's not going to do that. The essays— how will the essay show their highlight, their strengths, their passion, their purpose, for acceptance. Ultimately, when you put this all together and you add picking the right colleges— the, the reach, the comfort, the safety, the generous, the ones you can financially navigate or negotiate— and you partner that with understanding your student aid index, what colleges think you should pay, how to complete your FAFSA, because 77% of families do it wrong. And how to know if a school is going to require you to do a CSS profile. All of this is what it takes. So when people ask me, what is the secret? I tell them it's about the puzzle. It's about putting it all together. So today we're going to dive deeper into one of the pieces, but I don't want you to leave thinking This is it. You figured it out. We're all set. So who will do each piece of the puzzle? Once you figure that out, you now have a plan. With a plan reduces overwhelm. That is what we want for you. So moving on, I want to just encourage you, if you go to See Our Future Now, we have scholarship opportunities. We have FAFSA, SAI, and CSS support, and we can help you get all of this completed. So let's dive back in and have just a quick conversation about some questions that you may have. Carrie, are there any questions so far in the chat?

Yeah, there's quite a few actually. Hang on.

Okay, let's go ahead and dive in there, and then I'm going to go all the way in to passion with a purpose.

Okay, so, um, let me see. Um, these were just, uh, things that people wanted you to cover. Um, is there such a thing as hob shadowing for 8th and— for an 8th or 9th grader?

Uh, did you say hob?

H-O-B shadowing.

Well, it depends on what you're going to shadow. If you want to go and shadow a doctor in surgery, no way, Jose. There's HIPAA laws. Um, so it— I mean, if you have a family friend who's an orthodontist and you have a 7th grader who wants to shadow him and they say Yeah, absolutely. There's an opportunity.

Job shadowing. I think it was supposed to be job shadowing. Okay.

So, yes. You know, I have a, I have a family who mom is a dentist and the child is considering dental and the mom's like, I don't see the fit at all. And I'm like, what a beautiful gift to have them shadow you. And so it's opportunity to do so is the biggest challenge. But yes, it can happen.

Yeah, and then Rachel asked, what age do you recommend starting community service? And I let her know that they don't start tracking technically until 9th grade. And then she said, are there meaningful opportunities for middle schoolers?

Absolutely. So number one thing, the best time to start is at any age, right? If you go and serve your community and they're a toddler and they're, you know, they're, they're engaging at the senior center or they are, you know, participating with you, they're thinking this is just part of our normal life. Now, community service for college, you can start adding the hours the day you promote from 8th grade. So that's when it gets real, because most families do not even start having this conversation until way too late, and then they're trying to play catch-up. I have— I mean, my own children, we started at an early age because I have a passion for it. But if you don't, don't feel bad. You have passion for something else. What's important is In 8th grade, my— I mean, 7th grade, my children were working at summer camps, volunteering at summer camps for Itty Bitties as a camp counselor. Like, there's some really meaningful things. So it, it starts small and it grows with your child and their ability to stand in that leadership position. In our own world, um, that I'm going to share with you at the end, we welcome all middle school and high school students. We have an international program that we welcome all, you know, middle and high school seniors, our students, and it is insanely meaningful. So yes, the answer is yes.

Um, one more question. So if my 8th grader starts this summer, how do we track for proof all of the hours?

Beautiful question. So, so important. So technically, a college is going to ask, what did you do? So in other words, what is the organization? What did you personally do? How many hours a week? How many hours a year? And how many years? And when they ask— when and if they ask for proof, It must be documented and it must be signed off by an adult, right? Someone over 18 that is not a family member. So a parent cannot just sign off a bunch of hours, not that you would, but just know that that doesn't work. So it's really important. So all of the students in our, um, in College Ready, I am a professional certifier for 4 national organizations. I have taken the time over the years to go through and jump through all of those hoops to be able to certify all of my students' hours. So if somebody in, in my program goes out and does anything, they tell me about it and I sign off on it. So that makes it super easy for them. If you're going to do it on your own, it means Wherever they go and serve, they need to bring a document. They need to get that adult to sign it in order for it to be considered. So when our students are logging this once a year, they have an opportunity to earn Bronze, Silver, and Gold National Awards for community service. At the— at— if they do it all 4 years, they can earn 8 gold awards for national organizations, which is the very best that you can earn. If you do it on your own, unfortunately, that opportunity is not there, but community service is still good. It's still real and still very important. So, uh, to track it, you can build yourself a spreadsheet. Just make sure that every time they serve, they're getting it signed off, because if it's not signed off, it won't count. The next caveat is your high school will have their own requirements. So not every high school has a requirement. There are some high schools that say, we don't care about if your child does community service. And then I have some students that their high schools require 100 hours over 4 years. That, and they have to be done outside of school. So just know every high school is going to have their own requirements, but in our program, I'm the one who certifies them, and so it just simplifies the process. Hopefully that answers your question. Carrie, anything else before I keep going?

Nope, it looks like we're good.

Awesome. So keep putting your questions in the chat. That's what I'm here for. We will continue so we stay on time. Okay, so now we're gonna dive into— oops, jump backwards. Why are we doing that? Okay, so how do you help your child find their passion? Big warning, alert, alert, alert. Please don't ask them. Every time a parent says, "What are you passionate about?" and the child goes, "I don't know," and it frustrates the parent. So what I recommend instead is a few things. Think about their extracurriculars. Use the table below as a starting point. Academically, do they enjoy the National Honor Society? That is a better, um, service opportunity, but it's not the best. Are they on honor roll? Awesome, that's good, but it's not better or the best. So you can look at these opportunities and look at the activities, honors and awards, and extracurriculars and how it all fits together. So colleges have a ranking, and they have a ranking for leadership, and they have a ranking for community service as well. And so they know if it's easy to do— sign up, show up, pass out water at the Race for the Cure— they are not going to be like, wow, Jimmy did that. No, it's just going to be, okay, Jimmy, check the box. You want to use your child's passion to help them lead others to create positive change. Okay, so leadership equals scholarship. Here is the organization that I wanted to tell you about. So this was started a year— oh my gosh, a year and a half ago— where I got— I came home from Uganda. I served there for 3 weeks. Helping women build businesses to support their families. And when I was telling one of my students about this opportunity, they said, how can I help? That sounds exactly what I want to do. And I said, great, let's do this. And they're like, how? And so I worked with them to put together our mission, and our mission is this. Our mission is we're dedicated to enhancing educational opportunities for underprivileged children in Uganda, the Kaleri District, by upgrading facilities and fostering a more conducive learning environment. Our commitment extends to supporting orphanages in Oaxaca, Mexico, and Korea. By improving education quality, we aim to prepare these children for university and beyond, boosting both student and teacher achievement levels. This initiative is crucial for instilling a strong work ethic in the children, enabling them to contribute significantly to their family's welfare and their nation's development. That was written by my student. I didn't write that. And yes, was I a part of the outline? And yes, was I a part of the Well, what about this and what about that? But this was written by a 15-year-old, and with the support, they found what is important to them. So their mission is written right here. The objectives of our mission is to create a landscape of equal learning opportunities for all school-going children, focus on increasing the school enrollment rate We're striving to reduce school dropout. What I learned while I was in Uganda is when a young woman turns— when a young lady becomes a woman, she can no longer attend school. That devastated me, and it devastated this child. Since then, they started to grow and to build. They now are supporting families, empowering The schools, they're building schools. So far they built 2 schools to, to educate 850 children, to improve their literacy, to promote a healthy academic environment, and promising a better life. Okay, this is my student with the support of somebody who wants to help them understand What is their mission? So again, to ask your child to do this on their own is probably asking more than they can handle. Now, I do have a few students who have wowed me over the years, but I like to show you what a quality Passion with Purpose project looks like. So this young man, and now has expanded to his executive team. There are now 7 students on the executive board that he has chosen. They meet every Sunday from 5 to 6 PM with children all over the world from middle and high school. And what they do is they lead, they inspire, they encourage, and they provide structure. They even create opportunities. This group has donated or received donations of $18,000 in one year. They have built schools. They have changed lives. This is what a Passion with Purpose project looks like, but it's only one. I have students who have done things that are uniquely different, and it really has to come from here. So what we do is we help families understand that this is not easy. If it was easy, colleges would not be impressed, right? If it was easy, the child's growth would not be there. With a Passion with Purpose project, my son was able to figure out that he wanted to be a doctor, not because of the D-R, but because he had a heart to give people a better life through helping their health, right? My daughter, her Passion with Purpose project was when my son came back from Uganda on my first African experience. I took him, and remember, you don't have to go to a third world country. It just happens to be that I wanted to see it and feel it and smell it and be a part of it in order to inspire teenagers from all over the world. But your child doesn't have to do that just because mine did. So my second child saw my first child's experience and said, Mom, those, those children don't even have their own clothing. They don't even have their own school supplies. They don't have shoes. They, they're missing food. And it set her on fire. For her Passion with Purpose project. Both of my children used their genuine love for helping others to create passion, to create purpose, to, to be interviewed in their college applications, to write essays that showed colleges they're not just about getting into a school for their football team, that they genuinely want to make a difference in this world, and they want to be educated by that university. You know, when my son got 7 full-ride opportunities, everybody said, that's impossible. You're a middle-class family making middle-class income, and there's no way it happened. I'm here to tell you that I am proof that it, it can happen, and I don't want you to be discouraged. So how will you build that with your child? That's the, the question. This organization is now He— Henry is now creating a nonprofit 501 because he doesn't want it to end when he leaves for college. He wants this to be his thing. So he didn't do it just to get into college. But what if you have a student who doesn't have a passion? Well, I had one of those a few years back, and I said to him, I said, what are you passionate about? And he's like, nothing. And I said, what do you mean? And he says, well, I don't even like people. And I giggled thinking, right, that no, that can't be. And he's like, no, Shellee, I really don't. And I said, well, what do you do in your spare time? And he says, I like to buy Comic-Con stuff on eBay. And first I'm like, well, what is Comic-Con? And he says, "Google it." So I did. And I'm like, "Okay, so that's like comic book stuff." I said, "What about it do you like?" And he's like, "Well, I like to buy it and fix it up." And I said, "And then what?" And he goes, "Then I like to go to Comic-Con conventions all dressed up, and I like to meet other people with the same passion." And I'm like, "Oh, so you're passionate about Comic-Con." He's like, oh, I guess I am. And so I started helping him brainstorm, what can you do with that? We spent a lot of one-on-one time together to help draw that out, that he actually did have a passion and he did have a heart to make other people's life better. And so that young man used his passion for Comic-Con. I won't go into the details, but we built an incredible Passion with Purpose project, and he got a full ride into several colleges and ended up going to Chapman for free. So I want to encourage you, not discourage you. And, you know, a lot of times that's where people get frustrated because they start with their child, what are you passionate about? And they're like, I don't know. But sometimes it's like, you know, when your child can tell their friend or somebody else what they unfortunately can't tell us as a parent. You know, I am a mom. I get it. Uh, some of these were easy, some of them were hard. And so I just want to encourage you and, and be supportive. Carrie, at this point, are there any more questions before I continue on? We have about 9 more minutes.

There are not.

Um, excellent.

Okay, I would encourage everyone, if you do have questions, please put them in the chat.

Awesome. So I'm gonna go on and we'll keep going. The next one is, how do you use your passion to create a standout strategy? So here's a sample. You know, this is one of my students. They— their passion project was about wanting to help people smile. So what they did is they wanted to partner with an organization slums in Kenya to provide materials and educate women on how to make sanitary napkins as well as feminine hygiene. They wanted young girls to not feel shame. It was really important for this student to have women feel empowered and not suppressed. And so we built goals. We had a timeline. We knew exactly who, what, where, when, how, and why. And that is what we do with our students. So having specific objectives lead to scholarships. Okay, so you may not care about scholarships, or you may, but this is also what gets students into college. So let me talk about them. Colleges want to understand who your child is, and, and they have money. Harvard has $53 billion in their endowment. They have plenty of money. So private scholarships are available to everyone regardless of what your income. The secret is, um, they're not going to be blasted all over the internet. For anybody and everybody, because that's usually the ones that are doing the bait and switch. You know, the ones that ask your child, uh, what— how much does your family make? Do they own a home? Do they own a car? Be very careful. Look for employer from credit unions, from department stores. They're out there, but they're not going to land on your child's lap. There are no tricks, and if it's too good to be true, it probably is. Using their passion equals scholarships. Consider your background. Does your child want to connect with your family's background? That may be something that bridges that gap. Using scholarships is so important. It is part of using their time wisely. Colleges will ask them, tell me 10 or 20 activities, honors, and awards. How many years did you do them? Did you lead them? How many hours per week and how many weeks per year? That is what colleges want to know. So if you're feeling as a parent— this is what I hear often— I do not want to mess up. I've tried to do this on my own. I'm super frustrated, but this is what my child needs. They need to find their passion. They need to find their purpose, finding their why, because they want to attend college. We want a simple roadmap to getting accepted into college. We don't want to pay full price for college. When do we start? Where do we get the information? And how do I help my child? The list really goes on and on. And because I have walked in your shoes, and because I have a huge, um, desire to help families navigate this as part of my own Passion with Purpose, I'm offering a complimentary discovery call to help your child find their why, to help your child find their passion. This is not an information meeting where I'm going to sell you anything. It is really to help your, your family figure this out. It's to discover what colleges are looking for. I want to tell you, it's to help your child be positioned, and it's help how to create a custom standout strategy. So if, if that interests you, go to college ready plan dot com. I'm sorry, college ready plan dot info. And that will give you the opportunity. It's only for those on this call. We don't take every student. If you're like, I'm more a do-it-myself kind of person, here you go. This is Passion with Purpose. I guide you over the 6 modules, how to find their passion, questions to ask, the steps to take. It's all right there. You can do it on your own. If you're like, I don't have time, Shellee Howard, I really— I'm a busy parent. I really don't have time, but I do want my student to lean into this. Well, here's a free opportunity. Your child can join EmpowerEducation.World. They'll be welcomed. We are here to support your children and help them to figure this out, because if they do, it will lead to future success. If they don't, what is the strategy? What is the situation? So that's it. I'm not here to push you to do anything. I'm here to just try to help you understand who will do it. Will you do this? Will your child do this? Or who else do you expect to do this? We start doing this with our students in 7th and 8th grade, but we know that students may not understand this until their freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior year. The longer you wait, the harder this is. So is it possible? Yes, we help seniors create passion with purpose, but we also help 7th graders and everybody in between. So I'm going to open it up to questions. Is there anything in the chat, Carrie?

Um, no, no more questions.

Wonderful. Well, parents, thank you so much for your time. If you need anything at all, please let us know. We are here for you.

Oh wait, somebody said— sorry, Shellee Howard— um, Passion with Purpose QR does not bring up site.

Okay, so go to empowereducation.world. Carrie put that in the chat. I'll have a look at that QR code. I apologize, um, but if you go to empowereducation.world, you can get the information where it says, um, would you like to attend, and I will send you the link to get on the Zoom call. We can't just give you the Zoom call because these are students under 18, and we have to make sure that everybody on the call is people we want on the call. So just know that is the link, um, and you are good to go.

One more question, Shellee. Sure. 9th and 8th grade too late to start?

Oh no, not at all. Um, I did not start Passion with Purpose with my firstborn until he was in 12th grade, uh, he just finished 11th grade. He was a really busy young man, and unfortunately he thought community service was something I'm embarrassed to say. And so he figured it out in perfect timing. So please know, is it easier? Is it more enjoyable? Does it help them pick their major and their career if you start younger?

Yes.

Is it ever too late? No. As an adult, I encourage adults, find your passion, live your purpose. Um, so please feel free to encourage your child as long as they are going to listen to you. Do it all on your own. If you are like, I have no idea or the time, let us help you. So thank you so much. Any other questions? Let's see. Do you have counseling calls with students? Oh, yes, we definitely encourage the student to be on the call. It's super important that we can encourage them and show them the how, the what, the where, the when, all of that. And then see if they can do this on their own. So yes, very important. I see one more question. As generations change, I believe colleges also adjust their requirements in terms of specifics for admissions. In your experience, how often would you say there are changes in requirements? I believe now colleges will consider ACT not just SAT. Oh my gosh, it, it changes about every 2 years. And so over the last 17 years, it's changed a lot. It changed incredible over COVID, and now we're seeing it all unwind. It is no longer test optional. I mean, it really never was, but it's what students told their parents. So again, remember when I Googled and you saw all of that law? It's be careful where you get your, your knowledge. Testing is not optional, and colleges don't care if you take the SAT or the ACT. There's so many things that have changed over the years, and that's the importance, right? It's kind of like tax code. You could do your own taxes and miss out on a ton of opportunity to decrease your taxes, or you hire a CPA and they save you money. It's the exact same thing with working with College Ready, is we're the— we are the, the link to getting into college and also getting return on your investment. So staying up with it is critical. From my first child to my second child, 4 years, it changed about 50%. So we live this day in and day out. I'm in the process of writing my second book because my first book 7 years ago was a bestseller, and now I feel it's changed so much I need to give you a new foundation. So great question. Um, let's see, anything else?

Yep. Do you work with homeschooled students?

Oh, we have a lot of homeschool students. We love the creativity that the homeschool student brings, but they're having to really figure this out on their own. So it's parent-child or who, which is the same boat as anybody in public or private. So yes is the answer. And we have a ton of success. We even have a specialist who homeschooled 4 of her children with massive success. So Please know we can support you.

How may I— yeah, there's 2 more real quick. How may I find out about the cost of your services?

Awesome. So we're totally transparent. It really depends on what you need. If you would like a copy of my book, it's $14.95, and then the pricing goes up from there. If we have small group, we have 1-to-1, we have knowledge only, we have do-it-yourself. So if you tell me what you need, I'm happy to share the cost.

So, you know, with this every 2 years changing, what would you recommend for an 8th grader, or what from your program applies for an 8th grader? Probably for that person, would you suggest doing a discovery call?

Absolutely.

Okay.

Anything specific like that, I would love to tell you one-to-one, but here's the thing. It's like going to a doctor and saying, here's all my symptoms, tell me what to do. And it, it, it's not a thorough way of helping. I will tell you, we have middle schoolers in our program that are getting so much out of it starting early and being able to put on their applications. They've done it for years other than weeks. So discovery call would be great for you.

Okay. And then, um, Nushin wants to know the cost of the one-to-one program.

Yeah, so there's 3 different one-to-one programs. I recommend doing a discovery call to see which one of those is right for you. Do you want a 1-year? Do you want a 4-year? What, what exactly you're looking for. And unfortunately, we are over time, Carrie, so I'm going to have to say goodbye for now. Thank you, parents, so much. Um, the name of my book is How to Send Your Student to College Without Losing Your Mind or Your Money. The next book's title will be released in January, so please continue to like and follow. We're here to support you. Thank you so much for your time.

Thanks, everyone.