Seattle Pilipino American Students Get College-Prep

To ease the stresses of high school seniors when applying to colleges and universities, the Filipino Community of Seattle (FCS) hosted a college-prep workshop on Saturday, October 11 at the newly renovated Filipino Community Center (FCC).

The college-prep workshop highlighted latent talents in each student and to emphasize that no goal was "unrealistic."  Speakers encouraged students to be serious and to have a strong will when considering post-high school plans.  Even if a student has a low GPA, the strength of a student's testament and work ethic can be shown through the personal statement portion of college applications. Volunteers also handed out information packets about the University of Washington (UW) admissions process and answered several questions about application deadlines, personal statements, and financial aid.  Information packets for Seattle University (SU) were also available

Nolette Serra, educator/organizer and member of the FCS board, promised students that help is available through the community when they need it.  She also attributed the success of the workshop with the commitment of the volunteers.  "I am happy to see different groups and volunteers coming together to help," she said.
High school students looked overwhelmed from all the given information.  One student, Christian Rozal, a senior from Franklin High School, looked relieved.  "I'm so glad a lot of my questions were answered."

For next week's follow-up meeting (still to be determined), students were asked to return with a draft of their personal essays and a list of their extracurricular activities.  Volunteers from UW and SU will be present to answer any questions and to guide them in filling in college applications, revising essays, or providing extra boosts of encouragement.

Everyone who has gone through this [agonizing] process may empathize--it's stressful!  For students, it takes heart, steadfastness, funds, and patience when applying for colleges and universities.  But it also takes the effort of communities throughout the nation to ensure students have the support and encouragement they may need.

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Information about the Filipino Community of Seattle can be found here: http://www.filipinocommunityseattle.org