By Glorianna Nichols.
With each graduating class, students write heartfelt essays and share endless personal details in pursuit of financial rewards with scholarships. The COOL counselors from each high school in the district, however, take a more competitive approach to scholarships by competing in an unofficial contest to see which school can receive the most amount of scholarship money.
For the class of 2022, Abilene High School reigns supreme.
Last year, seniors won 4.3 million dollars in scholarship money. Some of these students discovered scholarships on their own, but counselors of the COOL, or College Offers Opportunities for Life, program let students know about most scholarships. Starting in the 2007-2008 school year, the Abilene Education Foundation placed a full-time college advisor at each AISD high school campus to work with high school counselors. These advisors assist students with financial aid, college applications, and college visits.
“This is significant for me because since I’ve been the COOL counselor, this was my first time beating Cooper,” Tamika Braye said. “Of course, I’m proud of the students, too.”
As the college advisor, Braye receives various scholarships through different organizations in the community. Whether it’s through mail or email, Braye finds ways to provide students with scholarship opportunities. Braye listed some notable scholarships that qualifying students can apply for: The Abilene Education Foundation Scholarship, The Community Foundation of Abilene Scholarship, Abilene Women’s Club Scholarship and the Kiwanis Club.
“Students can come to my office, and I help them complete applications,” Braye said. “I help structure their admissions essays, troubleshoot websites if something is not working, and I help them navigate those websites. I also reach out to college admissions counselors to get questions answered that maybe we’re confused about.”
As the “bridge between the students and colleges,” Braye’s job is to make sure that the transition from highschool to post-secondary education is as painless as possible. Braye adds that “anybody can apply for scholarships,” meaning that students of any grade level or background can get financial help. In fact, Braye knows exactly what it’s like to be a student who was in a disadvantaged household because she is a first generation college student, meaning that she was the first person in her family to go to college. Despite this, she received a full-ride, or got enough money from scholarships to pay for her college expenses, at ACU and graduated in 2018. Braye has been the COOL counselor for the school since 2019, but her experience with the COOL program goes further because she was in the program when she attended high school. Laquiera Gantt, who’s still working as the COOL counselor for Cooper High School to this day, helped Braye with discovering her “dream job” getting into ACU.
“Now the person who used to be my counselor is my coworker and I love it,“ Braye said. “She really motivated me to make a difference and do something for the school district.”
Braye also discovered that she “loves working with kids” while working as a counselor.
“I love seeing how happy students are when they do all this work and they come in so frustrated, scared and sad but in the end, it always works out,” Braye said. “Then, they’re always so happy and I just love seeing students succeed.”
Braye helped Molly Mercer, a ‘22 graduate, succeed and contributed to the amount of scholarship money the school received. She’s currently a freshman at ACU and, just like Braye, got a full-ride for her stay. She won academic merit and music scholarships from ACU and four other local scholarships: The Stone Owl, Abilene Women’s Club, Abilene Education Foundation and the Community Foundation Scholarship.
“I was stunned,” Mercer said. “I remember opening my final scholarship package and it was for the exact amount of remaining tuition I had left to pay for my first year and even some extra.”
Mercer believes that Braye was a crucial part to her success in winning scholarships, saying that she was “amazing” during this process.
“I signed up for every single scholarship available,” Mercer said. “She helped me send in all the academic paperwork and transfer earnings to the university. Writing essays was a tedious task, but well worth it in the end.”
Additionally, Mercer received scholarship money because she finished top of her class and was involved in many elective classes. Throughout her time in highschool, she participated in concert choir, another choir class known as Pure Gold and varsity theater. She was also a member of National Honor Society and volunteered for churches and various events in the community.
“Being involved is extremely important,” Mercer said. “Scholarship committees look for that to make sure you’re well rounded in both school and your community.”
Mercer was a member of the Texas Association of Future Educators (TAFE), an organization created to provide students with the essential information to make decisions about pursuing careers in education. She was also in ReadySetTeach, a field-based internship which provides students background knowledge of child development as well as effective ways to teach. Based on this, it’s no surprise that Mercer wants to pursue a career in education, specifically musical education.
“I chose ACU because I adored the music department,” Mercer said. “I am a vocal music education major and I love it! I chose this because I have a passion for teaching and have loved choir since elementary school.”
Despite her passion for musical education and interest in her decided college, Mercer’s experience has been “quite interesting so far” at ACU.
“It’s been a rough transition, but the professors are so welcoming,” Mercer said. “I’ve had some great experiences. I love being in a department that works alongside theater because that is where I’ve found my most favorite friends.”
While Mercer had her college plans figured out since she was a freshman in high school, she wants to reassure students who don’t know where to start with post-secondary education that it’s “completely fine” to not know where to begin.
“Apply, apply, apply,” Mercer said. “Apply to at least five universities you have an interest in and then start looking around for scholarships. It’s a huge time commitment but worth it in the end when you get to go to the school of your choosing and not have money be a burden in the process. I believe in you, class of ‘23.”
