With the rising prospect of the fall semester being online, millions of students are weighing the cost/benefit of returning to school in the fall. For a lot of these students, it’s simply about whether or not they want to do remote learning or pursue other ventures before returning. For other students, remote learning puts an additional barrier in their path to finishing their degree. This is because many of them don’t have the means to execute virtual schooling due to inadequate equipment and space to learn.
And while a degree is no longer an absolute requirement for success, its probability is greatly enhanced by having one. Along with getting a degree, a significant advantage of attending college is the ability to participate in internships at top companies. While companies are slowly moving to make the process equitable for students of all backgrounds, it is still near impossible to land one of these internships while not attending a 4-year university. It is a strong belief of mine that we all should be equal in our ability to pursue education, and money should not be a deciding factor in the decision.
To help make this decision easier for students I’ve set out to create a scholarship for rising diversity sophomores and juniors (℅ 2022 and 2023) currently attending a 4-year university in the United States. This group is most impacted because:
Approximately 30% of college freshman drop out before their sophomore year
Black and Hispanic students are second and third most likely to drop out while pursuing a 4-year degree with American Indian/Alaska native being the most likely
Sophomore and junior year are crucial for diverse students in business who are aiming to get a job because that is when diversity recruitment at top firms kicks off starting with events in early fall and with many deadlines ending before December in 2020.
These students often face many challenges, whether it’s balancing a job or two with full-time classes, looking after siblings while studying for finals, or struggling to understand a lecture over the yelling of family members in the background. All of these issues make it that much harder for them to succeed in classes much less think about going after an internship that has the chance to change their life. The overarching goal is that by relieving some of the financial and logistical stress, they will be motivated to stay in school, allow themselves to pursue a top internship, and receive a college degree.
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