Gene Denton Essay 28

An often overlooked problem for college-bound high-schoolers in my community is finding scholarships, and finding good ones that appeal to them. High school kids seeking to go to college often have useful scholarships fly under their radar, due to limited time for discovery, poor outreach, convoluted websites, and a general lack of focus that leads to lower drive and morale to pursue higher education. On top of that, students that go out of their way to seek scholarships will have their searches cluttered with a boatload of no-essay scholarship from sketchy websites. These scholarships have probabilities comparable to the lottery, or are complete scams in general. Established programs are often gatekept from the majority, only available to an exclusive number of students. My school offers YouthLeadKC/2020 Leadership, but this is only a class with the capacity for twenty-five students. My graduating class has three hundred total, leaving the other 90% of the class unaware. My school does hold college fairs mandatory for seniors, but they still don’t go in depth on the scholarships that would allow us to attend these schools. My solution to this issue would be to propose a “Scholarship Fair” to the administrators of urban schools. The scholarship fair would focus on different organizations offering scholarships, rather than the colleges themselves. a Scholarship Fair would also build confidence and awareness among students who may not see themselves as “scholarship material.” The majority of students are teenagers that don’t have high enough confidence in themselves or their abilities, and they assume scholarships are only for valedictorians or star athletes, when in reality there are awards for community service, technical interests, personal backgrounds, and career goals. Bringing representatives directly into schools would allow students to ask questions, make connections, and learn how to strengthen their applications. It would also encourage underclassmen to start preparing earlier instead of waiting until senior year. I plan to study IT and Cybersecurity after high school, and with the education and experience I’m gonna gain going to school for that, I will be able to gather a team (or do it myself) to develop a website that acts as a repository of open scholarships. The majority of students prefer looking for scholarships online, so I want to capitalize on that demographic while carving a niche for my website. Other scholarship websites require filling out tedious sheets of info, so a searchable repository would ease the mind of stressed potential college students. Having one easy-to-use, open-to-all repository would help not only the other kids in my community, but kids just like me nationwide. By creating a repository that I wish I had, it would help other low income, urban high school students like myself have a better sense of direction of what to apply for, help scholarship hunting to feel like less of a convoluted headache, and help our career goals feel more possible, and more achievable. In addition to creating better access, My proposed website would complement the fair by organizing scholarships by deadline, eligibility, award amount, and field of study. Features like filters, deadline reminders, and verified listings would help students avoid scams and focus their energy on realistic opportunities. Over time, the platform could expand to include application tips, essay guidance, and success stories from students in similar communities. Together, these efforts would not only spread information, but also empower students to take control of their futures with clarity and confidence.