By Tammy Pham

When I was a high school student, everything seemed so confusing when it came to the college application process. My family was not prepared for anything, especially financial aid. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to have amazing teachers and external counselors who guided me through the process.

A lot of students at my old high school go through the same feelings during their junior and senior year. They are not aware of how long the process is, how costly it is, or how much time it would take a student outside of their normal class load. As a result, I wanted to work with the college counseling team at my school to create a summer program.

Most days, a few students come in and ask recent alumni for advice on one of four general topics: SAT, college applications, scholarships, and “how to survive 101”. So far, it’s been a great experience working with these students because a lot of them are siblings of my old friends or I’ve known them growing up.  My favorite memory so far is seeing their growth when it came to SAT testing! One student increased by 4 points after doing multiple practice tests per week for three weeks!

Below is a picture of my old high school! It is a little vacant since I come in one hour early to open the gates and doors for the parents to drop off the kids. I work in my old Statistics classroom. In the photo, you could see some of the doors are open. Teachers come and go, working on their new year’s curriculum or hanging out with kids who are taking summer school.

I have loved being back on campus the past half-summer. I even loved being a ‘teacher’ and having my own set of keys, despite being a student only a year ago even more!