Blog
Stories of Resilience
October 27, 2014
The great equalizer in college admissions is student performance. Students who are willing to make the sacrifice and commitment to pursuing academic excellence, whether in Oakland, California, Long Island, New York, or India, are gaining admission into top colleges.
Oakland teen, Akintunde Ahmad (pictured here), accepted into multiple Ivy League schools (Yale, Brown, Columbia, and more).
Washington, DC student, Rashema Melson, whose father was killed when she was 7 months old, goes from homeless shelter to Georgetown University on a full scholarship.
Long Island, New York student, Kwasi Enin, accepted into all 8 Ivy League schools.
Dawn Loggins, senior and high school janitor, accepted into Harvard.
Indian students use Ivy League colleges as their “safety” schools.
From Mississippi to the Ivy League for low-income students, Justin Porter and Travis Reginald.
Richmond High School student, Guadalupe Morales, is Ivy League bound (Brown University). Teachers describe her work ethic, commitment, and grit in overcoming the challenges that she faced.
Wells Fargo Opportunities for Future Leaders
October 7, 2014
Investment Banking / Sales & Trading
You’re invited to apply to the Wells Fargo Securities Freshman Finance Forum — an event for top freshman undergraduate students in any major who are interested in exploring a career in business and learning about the variety of opportunities within the financial services industry.
What to expect:
- Learn about Wells Fargo Securities (WFS), the financial services industry, and careers in investment banking and sales & trading
- Meet with senior management and WFS professionals
- Participate in information sessions, panels, and networking events
Conference Dates and Location:
Charlotte, NC: March 10-11, 2016
All travel and meal expenses will be paid by Wells Fargo.
Qualifications
The program is open to all freshman inclusive of minorities, females, protected veterans, people with disabilities and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) pursuing a bachelor’s degree in any major with an expected graduation by December 2018, or May/June 2019
College Sophomores and Juniors
When you start your career with a Wells Fargo undergraduate program, you’ll start laying the foundation for your future success while developing professional skills you can’t learn in the classroom.
Each program is designed to support your development. That’s why they all include exclusive training and networking opportunities, exposure to Wells Fargo’s top leaders, mentoring, and coaching, and more. You’ll work alongside experienced team members and experience first-hand what Wells Fargo offers our clients, and our team members.
Explore your future and contact us if you’d like to learn more.
College Seniors
When you start your career with a Wells Fargo undergraduate program, you’ll develop your professional skills faster than you might with a typical job out of college.
Each program is designed to support your development, and help set you up for success in your transition from academic life to the business world. That’s why each program includes exclusive training and networking opportunities, exposure to Wells Fargo’s top leaders, mentoring, and coaching, and more. You’ll work alongside experienced team members to see what Wells Fargo offers our clients, and our team members.
Explore your future, and let us know if you’d like to learn more.
2014 Turner Chapel AME Church Education Ministry College Fair
September 16, 2014
Student Loan Assistance
June 11, 2014
President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum that will allow an additional 5 million borrowers with federal student loans to cap their monthly payments at just 10 percent of their income.
FACTSHEET: Making Student Loans More Affordable
- 71 percent of those earning a bachelor’s degree graduate with debt, which averages $29,400.
- The Presidential Memorandum also outlines a series of new executive actions aimed to support federal student loan borrowers, especially for vulnerable borrowers who may be at greater risk of defaulting on their loans.
- The Secretary of Education has been directed to ensure that student loans remain affordable for all who borrowed federal direct loans as students by allowing them cap their payments at 10 percent of their monthly incomes. The Department will begin the process to amend its regulations this fall with a goal of making the new plan available to borrowers by December 2015.
- Most students taking out loans today can already cap their loan payments at 10 percent of their incomes. Monthly payments will be set on a sliding scale based upon income. Any remaining balance is forgiven after 20 years of payments, or 10 years for those in public service jobs.
- The Servicemember Civil Relief Act requires all lenders to cap interest rates on student loans – including federal student loans — at 6 percent for eligible servicemembers.
- The American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) provides up to $2,500 to help pay for each year of college. But the process of claiming education tax credits like the AOTC can be complex for many students, including for the 9 million students who receive Pell Grants, and hundreds of millions of dollars of education credits go unclaimed each year. To help address this complexity, the Department of Treasury will release a fact sheet clarifying how Pell Grant recipients may claim the AOTC.
Click here for the complete fact sheet…
ACT Score Percentile Ranking
June 2, 2014
Church helps students strike gold on scholarship search
May 28, 2014Wednesday, May 28, 2014
By Eric Stirgus – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The $3,000 their church raised for the college scholarships was nice, but Mychal and Nina Wynn thought it could do more.
In 2007, the couple approached Turner Chapel AME Church senior pastor, the Rev. Kenneth Marcus, with the idea of a ministry to help students search for other scholarships and, just as importantly, provide them with the skills to get those scholarships.
Some of the 2014 graduates who attend Turner Chapel AME Church stand at the altar during the service Sunday.
On Sunday the church, in Marietta, held a service for 50 church members who have been awarded scholarships. The offers totaled $4.3 million.
Some students, like Brittany White, have earned full scholarships. White earned a Gates Millennium scholarship, which pays the entire tuition to any school the recipient attends. White’s choice was Spelman College.
“It feels really great knowing they want me to succeed as much as I want to succeed,” said White, 18.
Most of the students attend high schools in Cobb and Marietta, but some have graduated from schools in Cherokee, Fulton, Gwinnett, Paulding counties and Atlanta.
Community organizations and houses of worship across Georgia are getting more involved in helping aspiring college students find scholarships. Few, though, are as involved or successful as Turner Chapel AME, observers say.
Dr. Emily Lembeck, superintendent of Marietta City Schools, said, “I always enjoy attending this special service at Turner Chapel, where the number of graduates recognized continues to grow each year. This year MHS had a record number of graduates earning the largest amount of scholarship funds ever and I appreciate the contribution to this success that stems from the support some of our students received from the Education Ministry.”
At Turner Chapel AME, the Wynns, youth pastor Rev. Don Ezell and others worked with student members to find scholarships that fit their academic interests. They also helped with resume and essay writing, tutoring and preparing for the Criterion-Referenced Competency Test. The church also holds a college fair each October. Last year, about 50 colleges came, said Mychal Wynn.
Reginald Lyon, president of the Duke Black Alumni Connection, which has about 1,500 members nationwide, attended the fair and was astounded by the preparedness of the students and workshops the church had on financial aid, college interviews and other topics.
“This was the most impressive setup I’ve seen at a historically black church,” said Lyon, who lives in Dallas, Texas. The church began in the mid 19th century. It has about 6,000 members.
Like Jesus urging his disciples to follow him and vowing to make them fishers of men, the Wynns have travelled to other churches to share what they are doing at Turner Chapel AME, with the inspirational message that they can do it too.
“We have created a scholarly culture and a culture of service,” said Mychal Wynn. That culture of service includes requiring church members in college to return on their breaks to help other students, or to mentor other Turner Chapel AME students once they arrive on campus. Many students are the first in their family to attend college and were unaware many of these scholarships exist. Some students say their guidance counselors, swamped with the hundreds of students seeking their attention, don’t always have time to help.
Linette Andrea, whose daughter, Jordan Fessehaie, 17, will attend Boston University this fall, echoes the thoughts of many parents. A blessing, mom called it.
“Jordan had a clear vision of her goals since the tenth grade and working with the Wynns allowed both of us to be more focused and acquire information that was not at school or in the community,” Andrea said.
For Kyla Baron, 17, the long hours of prep work in the ministry have resulted in a full scholarship from Xavier University in New Orleans, where she wants to study biology. Baron, who graduated from Kennesaw Mountain High School, said she’s received other scholarships that will help her pay for books, her dorm room and transportation to school “so my parents don’t have to pay for that.”
Click here to listen to student testimonials from their participation in the church’s 2014 College Planning Cohort:
Students Earn $4.3 Million Scholarships
May 11, 2014
CHURCH STUDENTS EARN $4.3 MILLION IN COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS
The Turner Chapel AME Church, under the leadership of Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Kenneth Marcus, and Youth Pastor Rev. Don Ezell, has a model the White House should be paying attention to. Through the college planning support offered through the church’s Education Ministry, their 2014 class of 48 graduating high school seniors has been offered over $4.3 million in scholarships and financial aid from over 125 colleges and universities—including such highly selective colleges as Cornell, Columbia, Spelman, Morehouse, Xavier University (LA), Pomona College, Williams College, Wake Forest, University of Southern California, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Boston University, and Syracuse University. 24 of the graduating students who participated in the church’s 2014 College Planning Cohort accounted for $3.4 million of the total.
The scholarships and financial aid offers include a 2014 Gates Millennium Scholar—the church’s 4th Gates Millennium Scholar—and the church’s 2nd and 3rd Posse Foundation Scholars. The 48 students—who attend high school in Cherokee, Cobb, Gwinnett, Fulton, and Paulding Counties, Marietta City Schools and Atlanta Public Schools, and a few who receive private and home-schooled educations—will be celebrated at the church’s 7th annual High School Graduation Celebration Worship Service on Sunday, May 25, 2014 at 9:30 am.
Many of these graduating high school seniors were rising middle school students when nationally acclaimed author and educational consultant Mychal Wynn, and his wife Nina Wynn, volunteered to take the reigns of the Turner Chapel AME Church’s Education Ministry. Through the church’s college planning, essay writing, and interview preparation workshops; CRCT Prep and SAT Prep sessions; bi-annual academic celebrations; annual college fair; annual college tour; college discussion panel of current and graduated college students; as well as the annual High School Graduation Celebration, the church has cultivated a culture of high academic expectation, leadership, and service.
Street Angels Motorcycle Club Scholarship, Deadline May 31, 2014
April 30, 2014Street Angels Motorcycle Club is a group of women dedicated in its efforts to provide for the community an organization which promotes the safety of motorcycling, camaraderie and the patronage of the riding community. We strive to make great contributions to our riding community, as well as assisting those in need. The Scholarship was established in 2008 as another opportunity to give back to the community. We believe that pursuing an education at the post-secondary level is beneficial to the individual, the community and the economy. Because of this belief, we have decided to assist two individuals in their pursuit of higher education by providing educational funding. We will award one $500 first place, and one $250 second place scholarship.
Criteria:
Applicant must be a freshman entering a four-year college or university in 2014-2015
Applicant or parent/guardian must be a licensed motorcycle rider in the state of Georgia
Applicant must be a resident of Georgia
Applicant must have a minimum grade point average of 2.50 on a 4.00 scale
Applicant must provide an official transcript with the application packet
Applicant must provide one letter of recommendation with the application packet; this letter must be from an educator or guidance counselor at the applicant’s school
Applicant must provide proof of community service with the application packet
Applicant must submit a 500 word essay
Finalists must appear for an interview in the Atlanta area on June 14, 2014.
These applicants will be notified via telephone or U.S. mail. Winners are invited to the scholarship luncheon on June 22, 2014.
The application can be found at:
Atlanta Jamaican Association Scholarship, Deadline May 30, 2014
April 30, 2014High school seniors and current college students with a 3.0 GPA and at least one parent of Jamaican descent may apply for the Atlanta Jamaican Association (AJA) Scholarship. The additional requirements and a copy application can be found here:
Wellstar Cobb Auxiliary Scholarship, Deadline May 14, 2014
April 30, 2014The WellStar Cobb Auxiliary Scholarship is available for students who plan to pursue a degree or certificate in the healthcare profession in the State of GA. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 2.0.
The application can be found at the link: http://www.wellstar.org/about-us/volunteers/documents/cobb-auxiliary-scholarship-application.pdf