Collegiate Challenge: Changing lives that will change the future
Collegiate Challenge is a program that matches experienced community members as mentors to help high school juniors and seniors prepare for college. Mentors help students with admissions applications, scholarships, financial aid applications, test preparation and career exploration.
During weekly or monthly sessions, mentors provide guidance and motivation to students, empowering them to reach post-secondary success in college and beyond. The cadence of meeting with the student is specific to each campus.
Mentors' advice and encouragement to students, who may be the first in their families to go to college, provide pathways to realizing dreams of bright, financially secure futures.
Collegiate Challenge Scholars Add to Resumes with Internships in SBISD
This summer two current Collegiate Challenge students are working in the Spring Branch ISD Finance division and two former program participants are working in the Community Relations office. Each is benefiting from valuable, real-world experiences that add authenticity to their resumes.
For the past 18 years in SBISD, mentors and SBISD staff have invested time weekly with Collegiate Challenge cadres of high achieving students at six high schools to assist with the processes of college and career exploration, writing application essays, submitting college and scholarship applications, navigating financial aid, and encouraging them to maintain strong academic standards.
“I knew I wanted to go to college... read more here.
May 2019
NHS Grad Credits Collegiate Challenge Mentor with College Admission Help
Hannin Haifa – SBEF’s Memorial City Mall Scholarship Recipient
Since she was 3, Hannin (pronounced Haneen) Haifa lived with her grandparents in San Antonio. It was an idyllic life. Though she now knows her lifestyle was old-fashioned, it was normal to her. “Other families participated in sporting events and had parties. We gardened, did chores and rode bikes. We had no technology. I didn’t discover the Internet until high school.”
Her lifestyle prepared Hannin to excel. She was part of her school’s Gifted and Talented program since kindergarten and advanced to Gifted and Talented Leadership. She took dual credit classes, joined the National Honor Society, played violin in her school’s advanced orchestra, participated in a number of extracurricular activities and volunteered in the community.
More than 17 years into the successful run of the Collegiate Challenge program, a new cadre juniors from each SBISD high school have started their journey towards their goals of college acceptance and rewarding careers of interest to them. The students and their mentors are using the spring semester to fine tune essays and resumes to be included with college and scholarship applications in the fall. Expert advice from mentors and counselors is shared each week to encourage and keep the students on track.
Meanwhile, the Collegiate Challenge seniors are receiving college acceptances and financial aid packages. They will make final decisions about their college destinations by May 1.
At Spring Woods High School, juniors and seniors in the program, along with their mentors, came together for an end-of-year celebration. The seniors lined up and shared which colleges they plan to attend, as well as practical advice for the junior group.