On October 21, as a follow up to their inaugural Mentoring Event held this past April, the Hellenic Hearts Educational Guidance Program hosted its first College Admissions Workshop. The event was a great success and had over 60 attendees, which included high school juniors and seniors, parents, and volunteers. This event provided students with the opportunity to review their college applications/essays and gain the necessary insight to assist them in standing out from the crowd. Throughout the day, parents and students were extremely inquisitive and engaged and it was clear that the workshop provided them with the needed comfort to continue to move forward with the College Admissions process.
The day began with a presentation by Christina Sardelis, an independent College Admissions Consultant who also works with Hellenic College Holy Cross University in Boston as Regional Admissions Counselor. Using her unique insight into the college admissions process, Christina shared ways students can significantly enhance their chance for admission to the college of their choice.
The presentation was followed by college application breakout sessions. Volunteers, consisting of young professionals who themselves have gone through the college admissions process at some of the top Universities across the country. The time was spent discussing methods in which students can highlight, in their application, how they are a great candidate, including their involvement in extracurricular activities, describing their commitments or passion projects, and providing insight on their leisure pursuits and interests.
The second presentation of the day was provided by Maria Davidis, President of Beacon Educational Consulting, who discussed some of the ways students can best incorporate their experiences into their college essays. Prior to joining Beacon, Maria worked in higher education for almost 25 years including her time as the senior assistant dean of advising and admissions at Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences.
The Workshop concluded with a one-hour breakout session focused on the college essay. For those responsible for college admissions, college essays provide insight into a student’s unique personality, values, and goals and help set the student apart from all others applying. For most students, this session marked the start of the college essay writing process but for others, it was a way to edit their current drafts to tighten up language, structure, and format. As such, students either participated in a brainstorming session or reviewed edits to essay drafts that were submitted prior to the event.
Moving forward, the Hellenic Hearts Educational Guidance Program is planning its 2nd Annual Mentoring Event in April. To learn more about next year’s event and the Educational Guidance Program, visit hellenichearts.org/egp.
About the Hellenic Hearts Educational Guidance Program
The Hellenic Hearts Educational Guidance Program provides education-to-career guidance to Hellenic American Youth through mentoring, networking, admissions counseling, and professionalism programs, with the goal of promoting higher education and increasing professional success. To learn more, visit https://hellenichearts.org/egp/
