Imagine Fund contributions support the Imagine Grants program which affords underserved college counseling professionals the opportunity to participate in professional development opportunities or conduct special projects. As illustrated in the following stories shared by past Imagine Grant recipients, your contributions make a difference!
Communities in Schools - Project Success - Special Project College/Career Fair in rural Marion, Texas
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma - Special Project - Pre-College Workshop for Native American Students
Honolulu NCF - Special Project Grant - Student Access to College Fair
Vickie Sanchez - Professional Development Grant - Guiding the Way to Inclusion Workshop
Toby Loukmas - Professional Development Grant - NACAC Membership Dues
Kenneth Bordelon - Professional Development Grant - Guiding the Way to Inclusion Workshop
Imagine Grant Recipient: Communities in Schools – Project Success, Tiffany Patterson, Project Success Coordinator
Tell us about the College/Career Fair held in Marion, Texas last Fall.
Last October, Communities in Schools – Project Success hosted a College/Career Fair in Marion High School with financial assistance from NACAC’s Imagine Grant. With the grant money, we were able to purchase dinner for college representatives, superintendent, school officials, and other key members of the community.
Marion is a small, rural town outside of San Antonio (TX), with a population of just over 1,000 people. This was a big fair for the town because a lot of students don’t go on to college. Our goal was to spread the word of college readiness. We wanted these families to know that college is possible, regardless of where they may come from. The fair was a complete success! We had approximately 200 people in attendance.
What are the challenges of being located in a rural area?
Often, Marion gets left out of the “college visitation loop.” We were very pleased with the turnout. We had 23 representatives in attendance. Now that we had this college fair and the representatives got the red carpet treatment, they will remember us and will come out next year. Some representatives even told other representatives about our fair and now they have asked to keep them on the mailing list for next year.
How did NACAC’s Imagine Grant help your efforts?
The grant supported several costs that made the fair a success including dinner for our representatives, decorations for the facility and drawstring backpacks for our students to collect college information. Each representative was pleased with the set-up and is looking forward to next year’s fair.
Why do you think it’s important to contribute to the Imagine Fund?
Without this fund, schools like Marion would not be able to adequately provide for their community. I don’t know how we would have been able to successfully have this fair without these funds.
Imagine Grant Recipient: Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Stephanie Hodge Gardner, College Prep Coordinator
Scholarship Advisement Program
Imagine Grant Awarded for: Special Project - Pre-College Workshop for Native American Students
Tell us about the workshop that was held for Native American college-bound students last June.
The Pre-College Workshop for Native American Students was a three-day program designed to give Native American high school students the tools and knowledge needed to prepare for college and navigate their way through the college admission process. Made possible by NACAC’s Imagine Grant, The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Scholarship Advisement Program, and The University of Tulsa, the overnight program took place on The University of Tulsa campus from June 27-29. Great Plains Association for College Admission Counseling (GPACAC) members, Barbara Adkins (The University of Tulsa) and Stephanie Hodge Gardner (Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program) served as co-directors of the Pre-College Workshop.
Native American sophomores, juniors and seniors from the GPACAC tri-state region (Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma) were eligible to apply. The 29 students who attended were exposed to a wide range of college prep topics including test preparation, creating a student resume, the application process, how admission decisions are made, scholarship opportunities, college selection, and a lecture given by a professor. GPACAC members Stephanie Hodge Gardner and Twauna Williams (Choctaw Scholarship Advisement Program) and Casey Reed, Erin Butts, Justin Margherio, and Barbara Adkins (The University of Tulsa) led the sessions. The final day included a lecture and tour of Tulsa’s Gilcrease Museum and its renowned Native American collection. The program concluded with a luncheon, where each student received a certificate of recognition and listened to remarks given by two fellow Native American students who navigated the college admission process successfully and are now excelling at their universities.
How did NACAC’s Imagine Grant help your efforts?
The Imagine Grant provided support for our Pre-College Workshop and aided greatly in our efforts. Along with funding provided by The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Scholarship Advisement Program, The University of Tulsa, and a mutual donor, we were able to offer students a quality experience at an affordable cost. Many times Native American students are unable to take advantage of college preparation opportunities because of financial barriers, but the Imagine Grant helped ensure every interested student was able to attend our pre-college workshop.
Why do you think it’s important to contribute to the Imagine Fund?
The Imagine Fund is crucial to the mission of NACAC, which is known for being an action organization. The Imagine Grants provide NACAC members the opportunity and financial support to pursue projects designed to assist students or to participate in professional development opportunities. The Imagine Fund is a vital part of molding and maintaining visionary education leaders, who think creatively and take action to provide students greater access to higher education.
Imagine Grant Recipient:
Honolulu NCF
Sally Mennella, Education Consultant
Transportation Committee
Imagine Grant awarded for:
Special Project - Access to college fair for underserved students
Sometimes crisis situations can pull together a community in positive ways. This certainly was the case with the Hawai‘i Association for College Admission Counseling (HACAC), the NACAC Presidents' Council and other contributors coming together during the 2008-09 school year to ensure the accessibility of the NACAC Honolulu National College Fair (NCF)!
Fall 2008 started out looking very bleak for Hawaii’s high school students. Statewide increases in unemployment and pay cuts meant fewer families could afford educational “extras” such as the costs of the usual school field trips for students. Decreased state funding and increased fuel costs made it difficult for public schools to keep down the costs of field trip buses and make participation in the college fair feasible for students. Students and schools in rural and remote areas were particularly hit hard by lost or decreased wages and increased transportation costs to activities in urban centers.
Ensuring widespread access to the college fair was particularly important for Hawaii’s continued efforts to close the sizable gap between the college-going rates of middle class and low-income students. Recognizing this, HACAC, together with the Imagine Grant, contributed funding for 25 field trip buses to ensure that the Honolulu NCF was widely accessible. The combined funding allowed 882 students from 19 schools (14 of which are low income, and five with AVID programs for first-generation, low-income students with college aspirations) to attend NACAC’s National College Fair in Honolulu.
In addition to funding for buses, HACAC provided each school with pre-fair preparation tools. The results? All 20 of the participating counselors required their students to pre-register online, and all but one used the 
college fair checklist available on the NACAC NCF Web site, reporting the resource “helpful” or “essential” in evaluations. Fair exhibitors reported that not only were there more attendees than in previous years, attendees were better prepared, overall, than ever before.
The Imagine Grant helped more than students and schools. The generous support in a time of need helped raise the visibility of HACAC and NACAC as a valuable community partner to educators and our communities, statewide.
“Mahalo!” to all of the contributors of the NACAC Imagine Fund which provided the monies for the NACAC Imagine Grant for helping Hawai’i students in 2009!
Imagine Grant Recipient: Vickie Sanchez
Admissions Counselor and Coordinator of Multicultural Recruitment
University of Wisconsin - La Crosse
Imagine Grant awarded for:
Professional Development Assistance - Guiding the Way to Inclusion Workshop
Tell us about the professional development opportunity that was funded by the Imagine Grant you were awarded.
I was able to attend the Guiding the Way to Inclusion program in San Francisco. I currently am a member of the Wisconsin Association for College Admissions Counseling and my affiliation with the Diversity, Equity and Access committee heard of the scholarship opportunity. With the current state budget cuts in University of Wisconsin System, it doesn't allow for many non-instructional staff to get an opportunity to attend conferences out of state. In the field of Admissions it is important to gain professional experience to remain informed about changing trends.
How did the Imagine Grant benefit you as a professional?
My role at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse is targeted to special populations: first generation, multicultural students, and economically disadvantaged. As a program attendee it benefited me greatly, as it solidified my philosophy on how the campus community has a role in enhancing our campus’ overall diversity. With the knowledge gained from the program I was able to learn how to extend my recruitment plan by cultivating cross campus relationships. Also, it taught me to share my knowledge with others and the need to be open to the constant changes in society as this affects how we communicate to prospective students.
Why do you think it's important to donate to the Imagine Fund?
I know that without financial support I would not have been able to attend the program. With support for such professional development more admission counseling professionals would be inspired to continue in this field allowing for greater consistency and increasing positive change when working with special populations.
Imagine Grant Recipient: Toby Loukmas
, Counselor
Counselor, Berkley High School (MI)
Imagine Grant Awarded for:
Professional Development Assistance - NACAC Membership Dues
What has been your experience as a NACAC member?
This is my second year as a NACAC member. I was able to go to the national conference in Seattle, which was an extremely valuable experience. I learned a great deal from the conference sessions and was able to make many out-of-state contacts on the college admission side.
How did the Imagine Grant assist you in participating in professional development opportunities?
I feel very fortunate to be a recipient of the Imagine Grant. It will cover my NACAC dues for the coming year. Due to funding constraints, it becomes harder each year to attend conferences and professional development opportunities where there are costs in addition to paying association membership dues.
The grant is allowing me to continue my involvement. I am fortunate to work at a high school that sees the value of my participation in both Michigan ACAC and NACAC.
Why do you think it is important to donate to Imagine?
The heart of NACAC is its members and the diversity of their experiences. The Imagine Fund provides opportunities to participate for people who may not have the opportunity otherwise.
How has this experience with Imagine and NACAC assisted you in your work as a college counseling professional?
I'm a fairly new high school counselor/college advisor and I feel like I learn something new every day. I know that I have NACAC, its resources and members behind me every step of the way. I am benefitting from the Imagine Fund and it's important for me to give back. I am getting more involved in Michigan ACAC and really enjoying it.
Imagine Grant Recipient: Kenneth Bordelon
Regional Admissions Counselor-Houston
Texas State University—San Marcos
Imagine Grant awarded for:
Professional Development Assistance - Guiding the Way to Inclusion Workshop
Tell us about the professional development opportunity that was funded by the Imagine Grant
NACAC’s Imagine Grant enabled me to attend the Guiding the Way to Inclusion Workshop (GWI), in San Francisco, CA, July 28-30 2009. GWI is a three-day annual professional development workshop for postsecondary admission counselors and enrollment professionals who assist underrepresented students and their families in the transition from secondary to postsecondary education. The workshop is tailored to address current multicultural and diversity issues in higher education. GWI provides in-depth understanding of the components of multicultural recruitment as they relate to the college admission profession.
How did the Imagine Grant help in your professional growth?
This experience provided a wealth of information that was valuable towards my overall professional growth and specifically will assist my recruitment of underrepresented students seeking post-secondary degrees. The sessions and speakers shared tremendous resources and best practices on topics such as multicultural recruitment, creating a diversity admission plan, and utilizing community-based organizations more effectively in recruitment efforts, just to name a few.
The students and parents whom I serve will benefit immensely from my attending this event because I gained some additional insight and skills to better assist them throughout the college admission process. I learned that culture, background, parental dynamics, and a host of other characteristics play a critical role in the decision-making process of students and families pertaining to college. I learned to include all aspects of culture, background and heritage in my communications and programs.
My participation in GWI has enhanced my awareness with respect to outreach efforts involving the underrepresented populations that I serve in the greater Houston and southeast Texas areas on behalf of Texas State University. It has also provided me with an in-depth knowledge of how community-based organizations and special programs within the high schools that I serve help communicate the diversity message of my university and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. In addition, I received information on utilizing technology in the recruitment process, program planning and analysis. This has given me insight into how to accurately assess the programs to which I have been assigned to better determine how effective my efforts are in helping to achieve our enrollment goals.
From attending GWI this past summer, my short-term goal now is to become an expert with respect to multicultural recruitment and to help inform my colleagues in the profession on more meaningful, practical ways to serve the communities in which we work. Also, in the future, I would like to create and implement a personal diversity recruitment plan, which would allow me to monitor the progress I am making towards bringing a more ethnically and racially student cohort to campus.
Why do you think it is important to donate to the Imagine Fund?
I believe that is very important to give to such an initiative as the Imagine Fund because it truly does support the work of college admission counseling professionals as we help students to realize their full educational potential. Since attending GWI this past summer, I have rededicated myself to this profession, but most of all, to the students and communities that I serve. The funding provided by the Imagine Grant makes such moments of affirmation possible to professionals who may otherwise not have the financial resources available through their own institution to be sent to such a national conference or workshop.