Hope Alumni Look Ahead Toward College

30 Apr Hope Alumni Look Ahead Toward College

Think back to your senior year of high school…what was it like?

A tumultuous time for many of us, senior year is one of the capstones that helps usher us into adulthood. Different high schools participate in various activities celebrating the end of the year such as pep rallies, final team sport games, drama club performances, academic tournaments, prom, and of course graduation.

For the students in the Class of 2020, when they look back on their senior year of high school, it will be through a different lens. With the pandemic encompassing all our lives, schools, colleges, and universities across the nation are working to provide as much information as possible for post-secondary education.

Throughout all of this, our Hope alumni – who graduated from Hope in 2016 – have been accepted to a variety of different colleges and universities, including but not limited to, Temple University, Neumann University, Ursinus College, LaSalle University, Lincoln University, West Chester University, Bloomsburg University, and Chestnut Hill College.

At Hope, Ms. Holiday, the director of graduate support, and Ms. Fox, the graduate support program associate, have been meeting with each senior every week to keep them on track with their high school graduation and preparations for college. Our Graduate Support team has been working with our seniors to ensure that their Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) is submitted, college deposits are sent, and applications are complete. We have found that college access networks are collaborating on various efforts to support students throughout this time. Many institutions are offering virtual tours, orientations, and meetups, trying to provide students a glimpse of campus life may be like.

We are optimistic that we will have the chance to not only have our eight grade class of 2020 walk across our Hope stage, but also our class of 2016 before they embark on a new journey. We have hope that in the future, our students will have the opportunity to look back on this year, and know that even during our most challenging times, there was Hope.