Bottom Line

Meet May’s spotlight alumna, Sam Louis!

Samantha Louis is a current graduate of Simmons College School of Clinical Social Work (Class of 2013) and has a BS in psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice from Bridgewater State University. She is currently employed part time under the student program at the VA hospital. Bottom Line connected her with this program about 5 years ago and she has been there since. She was born in Haiti and moved to Boston when she was 5 years old. She enjoy dancing and being around her awesome family and friends. Her current plan now is to find a “big girl” job and venture into the real world.

High School: Social Justice Academy

College: Bridgewater State University (undergrad) and Simmons College (masters)

Graduation Year: 2011 and 2013

Bottom Line Memory: Going over college applications, college tours and awesome care packages.

If I could send a care package, I’d fill it with: Hope and a flashlight. A lot of times life happens and things get a little hard and a little dark.  With hope and a flashlight we can see our way through.

Why I stay involved with Bottom Line:  Bottom Line is very important to me- people there have helped me to get where I am now. Before Bottom Line, I never thought of applying to a four-year college. I intended to go to a community college and then see what happened from there. Bottom Line gave me hope.  I love the cause and want to support it in its mission.

People would be surprised to learn that I used to: I used to have no intentions of driving or learning how to do it.

The BEST part of being a college graduate is:  I made new friends from all over the world and of different cultures. I experienced a lot of different things and gained a lot of knowledge.

Join me by supporting Bottom Line by attending volunteering opportunities!

Meet our April Spotlight alumna, Anim Aweh!

Bio: Anim Aweh is currently a graduate student at Salem State University working on her Masters in Social Work, expecting to graduate May 2013. She received her B.S. in Public Health from UMass Amherst.  Her goal is to work as a healthcare professional after graduation, and plans on going back to school for a PhD at some point. She is from Brighton, MA and enjoys shopping and traveling. Her plan is to graduate from school and move to a new city to pursue her career.

High School: Charlestown High School

College: Umass Amherst

Graduation Year: 2011

Job: Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC)

Bottom Line Memory: My counselor and other counselors coming up to Amherst and taking all the BL students to Bertucci’s, and receiving my care packages of course!

If I could send a care package, I’d fill it with: Encouragement

Why I stay involved with Bottom Line: I stay involved with Bottom Line because I’ve realized the significance of the support and motivation that BL provided me during my 4 years and even after college.  BL was a critical part of my success and was there for me during my most stressful times and continued to encourage me throughout.

People would be surprised to learn that I used to: Play basketball-  I started playing in elementary school and even played some intramural basketball in college!

The BEST part of being a college graduate is: The new lenses and insight that I walked away with. I see the world in a different light and view societal issues from a different perspective, which I am grateful for.

The HARDEST part about being a college graduate is: Missing the social atmosphere that college provided.

I give back to Bottom Line because: I think all Bottom Line Alumni should volunteer their time, networks, and or expertise to the program and the students currently being served! It is only right to give back what was given to us.

Boston College Students answering questions

On Saturday, March 16, Bottom Line students and staff came together for Bottom Line’s first ever College Expo!  The event was an opportunity for Bottom Line high school seniors in our Access Program to learn more about the target colleges that Bottom Line works with in our Success Program directly from our college students.  Almost 100 high school (Access) tudents attended the Expo and got to speak with more than 50 Bottom Line college (Success) tudents representing all 20 of our Massachusetts target colleges.  

Although the College Expo was an event catered toward our high school seniors, it also allowed our Success students the opportunity to give back to Bottom Line as volunteers.  The tables at the college fair were staffed by current Bottom Line Success students representing our target colleges.  The Success volunteers answered our Access students’ questions about topics ranging from majors to dorm life and housing to studying abroad and more.  The College Expo was a great opportunity for our Access students to hear more about Bottom Line target schools from other Bottom Line students that were in their shoes just a few short years ago. 

Students from Suffolk University

In addition to the college fair portion of the Expo, Access students had the option of attending two workshops.  The first workshop, led by Access counselors, helped students identify the important factors to consider when deciding which college to attend once they have received all of their acceptance letters.  Access counselors stressed to students the importance of visiting the colleges that have accepted them, if possible, before making their decision. 

In the other workshop, Success counselors explained how Bottom Line’s Success Program works and what students can expect should they choose to attend one of our target colleges and join Bottom Line’s Success program.  This was great for the students who attended from the West End House Boys & Girls Club in Allston who will be joining our Success Direct program.  This is an exciting new initiative for Bottom Line to recruit students from other college access programs “directly” into our Success Program.  Our goal for next year is to recruit 410 first year students from our Boston and Worcester Access programs and 115 Success Direct students from other access programs join our Success program for the 2013-2014 school year.  This workshop was a first step towards reaching our recruitment goal. 

UMass Boston table

The College Expo gave Access and Success students an opportunity to interact with one another and allowed our Access and Success staff to collaborate in the planning and execution of the event.  The College Expo highlights Bottom Line’s core values of relationships and responsibility.  Our students and staff collaborated building relationships across programs, and the students who attended the Expo gained additional knowledge to help them make a responsible college decision this spring!

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— Michaela Kinlock

Success Counselor, Boston MA

Bottom Line students at the “Share The Dream” banquet, February 2013

This past February, I had the privilege of attending the annual “Share the Dream” banquet for students in the College Now/START program at UMass Dartmouth. Carol Spencer, Director of College Now Program, said that it is held every year to, “celebrate the success of the College Now/START Program.” The first-years are “officially welcomed into the University by receiving a certificate acknowledging their completion of the program.”   Staff say that, “The Banquet is a wonderful way to celebrate and empower our students to continue striving.”

College Now/START is an alternative admissions program that supports students throughout their first year of college, by providing additional academic support and mentoring. Many Bottom Line students are enrolled in this program and have begun to see the benefits of taking a reduced course load and attending extra tutoring hours their first two semesters of college. There are currently 30 first-year students from Bottom Line in College Now/START Program, and 52 Bottom Line students have participated since 2009.

My student, Etiene, was asked to be one of two current College Now students who gave a speech at the banquet. In the days leading up to the event, he said that he was nervous and yet his speech was ready, thanks to the support of his College Now advisors and the Writing Center. At the “Share the Dream” banquet, Etiene brought the crowd of students, parents, faculty, administrators, and supporters to their feet! I could not have been more proud of him and was truly moved by his speech.  Etiene was also awarded a $3,000 Talent-Merit Scholarship from College Now.  It was a testament to his hard work this past semester.

Etiene, as he gives his speech at the “Share The Dream” Banquet

I believe that alternative admissions and bridge programs at colleges are great options for hardworking and determined students who need more help preparing for college. UMass Dartmouth is not the only school with these types of programs. Students can often find summer programs or first year intensive programs that will help support their academic needs. Programs such as Passport at College of the Holy Cross, AID at Worcester State, OTE at Boston College, and PLUS at Framingham State are all great examples of alternative admissions or bridge programs.

Some students are discouraged or disappointed to find out they have been selected for such programs because they may have to take a reduced course load, spend a few weeks of their summer taking college classes or attend mandatory tutoring sessions. These students should be excited for such programs! Not only do they offer lots of academic support in order to succeed in the first year of college, but a chance to build stronger relationships with peers and school administrators with which many students to not normally get the chance to interact. Bridge programs help students gain comfort with the rigorous coursework found in many college-level classes and understand what the rest of their years in college will look like. Over 90 Bottom Line students from the high school Class of 2012 went on to attend bridge programs at Bottom Line’s target colleges.  I love it when our students are able to take advantage of existing resources to better handle the transition to college and help them reach graduation.

- Kira Terrill

Success Counselor, Worcester

BIO: Valduvino, or Valdy is a recent graduate of Northeastern University. After college, he landed a job at New Mission High School as a Guidance Assistant where he works with students on college access and well as on the socio-emotional issues that students generally face in high school. He is currently enrolled in a Master’s program at the University of Massachusetts, Boston where he is studying school counseling combining his theoretical work with his actual practice at New Mission High School. He plans to work as a guidance counselor for a few years and eventually become a high school principal or go into higher education.

High School: John D. O’Bryant School of Math and Science

College: Northeastern University

Graduation Year: 2012

Job: New Mission High School, Boston Public Schools: Guidance Assistant

Bottom Line Memory: Working there as an intern and experiencing Bottom Line as a staff member & speaking at the Bottom Line graduation!

If I could send a care package, I’d fill it with: LOVE

Why I stay involved with Bottom Line: Bottom Line was a critical component of my college process and the reason I went to Northeastern was because of their help with scholarships

People would be surprised to learn that I used to: Work at Target for 4 years!

The BEST part of being a college graduate is: Making full time money!

The HARDEST part about being a college graduate is: Adjusting to a work schedule while still trying to balance graduate school. Not sleeping as much as I did in college; no daily naps!

Sonia Essaibi – New York Counselor

It’s a fun time of year to be at Bottom Line, and I know it’s just going to get better and better. Bottom Line helped over 200 New York City students put their stars on the “I HIT SUBMIT!” wall and will continue to work with them on the path to making a responsible choice of which college to attend next year.  In the midst of all this energy, we are also thinking about those students, who in just a few short months will be in our current high school seniors’ shoes. We are going to serve an additional 100 more students bringing our total to 300 high school students in the Class of 2014.

The Outreach Team has begun putting word out that we are accepting applications for the Class of 2014 in a big way. As a first-year counselor at Bottom Line, it’s been a great experience so far. We’re reaching out to school personnel with whom we already have relationships and forging new ones to expand our reach in order to help more and more eligible students. These students should live in New York City, have at least an 80 GPA, come from a low-income family, being the first generation of their family to earn a bachelor’s degree in the United States, and be U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents.

Our current high school seniors are also spreading the word by telling their junior friends. This year, we are piloting “Student Ambassadors,” seniors who will spread the word about our program to juniors at their high schools. To date, we’ve reached out to more than 25 current seniors to see who would like to be a part of this student-led outreach approach.  Then, applicants can indicate on their Bottom Line applications that they heard about our program from one of these Ambassadors. It’s a fun competition for the Ambassadors, too- whoever receives the most referrals by June 1st wins a $50 gift card!

We’ve also started doing presentations at area high schools in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx. The Outreach Team is planning to conduct over fifteen presentations across the city to publicize our program. Our goal is to talk to juniors about the services Bottom Line provides.  Additionally, we also discuss the college admissions process in general so they are better prepared as they embark on this life-directing process of college applications. Students are engaged during our presentations and ask great questions.  Students learn important milestones, for example the almost universal college decision day of May 1st. After discussing all the steps along that timeline the reactions on the students’ faces are priceless. They see themselves using our help and it shows in our numbers. We’ve just begun and we’ve already had 116 students apply!

 - Sonia Essaibi

Bottom Line – New York Counselor

Senior Success Counselor Ali Lincoln and her student, Robert

It’s financial aid renewal season for Bottom Line Success counselors, and as many of our first-year students are finding out, it’s something that happens every year of college. Initially, it seems like a piece of cake, since there’s only one school to worry about instead of the ten schools they applied to last year.  However, financial aid renewal is a multi-step process for most of our students that typically drags on throughout the whole semester. Even within the same school, some students have different requirements, and my email inbox has been steadily filling with panicked messages about missing documents, requirements that have already been fulfilled (or so a student thought), and upcoming deadlines.

Counselors start by looking at deadlines for each school that they work with, and make sure to schedule time to help students file their initial FAFSA before each deadline. Essentially, resubmitting information from the current school year’s Student Aid Report shows intent to attend and receive aid the following school year.  Schools want to ensure that each student receives the aid that they deserve and they each decide how the student proves their income.  The school may require an online or paper form sent, a tax transcript submitted, CSS Profile, or IDOC be completed to confirm income.  Accordingly, Bottom Line counselors review these ever-changing financial aid applications with our students.

After students and their households have received 2012 W2s, 1099s, and filed their taxes, counselors help students update their FAFSAs. Students may be selected for a process called verification, and be required to submit additional forms, their passport, or tax transcripts. Some students are able to use the Data Retrieval Tool, which directly links tax information from the IRS to the FAFSA. Not every student can use this, and then they need to request tax transcripts online, over the phone, or in person. Often, the deadlines for these follow-up steps aren’t as clear as the priority financial aid deadline at a school, but delays in these steps can severely affect a student’s aid for the following year.

Financial aid renewal is an intimidating process; missing a step or turning in something late jeopardizes a student’s ability to pay for school. Bottom Line counselors diligently help students through every step of this long, annual process, and we’re also working to help our students become better self advocates and take on more personal responsibility when it comes to financial aid. We’re helping them stay on top of deadlines, coaching them through calls with financial aid, showing them where to find the forms they need and how to fill them out, and following up to make sure that all of their questions are answered. It’s a lot of work, but staying in school and on track to graduate is a great motivator!

- Ali Lincoln

Senior Success Counselor – Worcester, MA

In the Boston office we have 503 high school students that Bottom Line is helping through the college admissions and financial aid processes.  Most of the high school seniors that we work with have packaged their college applications and placed their star on our “I Hit Submit!” wall.  In fact by December 21,492 of our students had completed their applications.  We have switched gears for the most part and are focusing on financial aid (ie the FAFSA and the CSS Profile).

A few of our students, however, are still in the process of applying to college.  In the case of my student, Stefani, the path to putting her star on the “I Hit Submit!” wall was a tough one.  In the fall of her senior year, difficult family circumstances caused Stefani to fall behind in school to the point where she had to postpone the college application process in order to focus on passing her high school classes.  While she would likely graduate from high school, she did not think she could go to college.  She was told by many adults in her life that that perhaps a year or two at community college after high school would be the best path for her. 

Not knowing this, I continued to reach out to Stefani asking her to come back to Bottom Line and to see if she wanted help applying for college.  Sometimes the most important thing I do as a Bottom Line Counselor is provide steady, positive coaching, telling my students that they can do it.

When I sent Stefani an email after winter break to ask her where she was at and when she may want to meet, she was in a completely different place.  She was no longer the overwhelmed student who had given up the dream of attending a four-year college.  She told me that her mindset had completely changed and that, despite the challenging circumstances in her life, she had started to turn things around in school and was no longer in danger of not graduating. 

 Then, she asked me if it was too late for her to apply to college.  While she was literally months behind her peers, we were able to work together and she was able to make many of her colleges February 1^st deadlines.  Although her colleges’ application process has not followed the traditional route here at Bottom Line, in a few short days Stefani was finally able to put her star on our “I Hit Submit” wall – a testament to her perseverance.

- Kendall Hiedman

Boston Access Counselor

Supporting students through the financial aid process has always been an integral part of Bottom Line’s services. Each January and February, counselors are busy meeting with students to submit their FAFSAs (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and CSS Profiles, and sometimes additional verification materials to make sure that they secure financial aid awards from their schools.

Here in New York, though, things look a little different. There’s a state-wide college access program in which all public colleges and many private colleges participate, collectively referred to as “Opportunity Programs.” The program was developed by the state legislature in the 1960s to provide access to higher education for the “educationally and economically disadvantaged” students in New York State. The great news is that this gives many Bottom Line students the chance to be admitted to colleges where they otherwise might not get accepted to because of grades and test scores.

The other part of this process, however, is that before students can officially be admitted to one of these Opportunity Programs, they must provide financial verification to prove that they are in fact “economically disadvantaged.” For some students, this process is pretty straightforward. They get their parents’ tax forms, fill out some paperwork, and send them off.

However, for those of our students who have more complicated family situations or whose parents receive public benefits, verifying family income becomes a much more complex process. We are coaching students to compile a whole host of financial documents that they have never heard of before. We are tracking down 1099s and W-2s from agencies and employers; we are helping students find a notary to sign their non-tax filer form; we are on the phone with families to compile all sorts of legal and financial documents.  Plus, spaces in these Opportunity Programs fill up on first-come, first-serve basis, so time is of the essence.

Financial aid can often be a frustrating and time-consuming process.  More importantly, financial aid is a critical piece of our students’ future success.  When all the pieces come together after a lot of hard work, it is fulfilling to see students get accepted to great colleges and receive the financial aid they deserve.

- Deborah Steinberg

Bottom Line Counselor

New York

Meet Luz Mederos-Dorleans!

BIO: Luz Angelica Mederos-Dorleans is currently a double husky at Northeastern University. She is pursuing her Master’s in School Counseling and received her B.S. in Business Administration. Her goal is to work in the Boston Public School system as a school counselor after graduation. She enjoys playing video games, hanging out with friends and trying out new recipes. Her plan is to finish her education and stay close to her friends and family in Boston.

High School: Snowden International

College: Northeastern University

Graduation Year: 2008

Job: The Steppingstone Foundation, Support Services Senior Associate

Bottom Line Memory: While having a tough time during finals, I remember receiving a Bottom Line care package in the mail. At the time, my advisor wrote me a personal note that lifted my spirits. It was what I needed at the time to regain my confidence. I will never forget that moment.

If I could send a care package, I’d fill it with: Candy, personal notes and more snacks!

Why I stay involved with Bottom Line: Because my success wouldn’t have been possible without their encouragement and support.

People would be surprised to learn that I used to: Live on campus my freshmen year of college. I literally live two blocks away from Northeastern. I really wanted to experience the college life.

The BEST part of being a college graduate is: Starting my next phase in life. I am now able to focus on things that interest me. I have decided to pursue a Master’s in School Counseling and will graduating in 2014. I can’t wait!

The HARDEST part about being a college graduate is: Finding the time to balance work and my social life. It is tough but it is nice to be able to prioritize fun things in my busy schedule.

Join me in supporting Bottom Line by….

• I donated the cost of two care packages; join me and donate $25 today!
• I volunteered at one of their networking events and talked to college students about the next steps after college. Share your wisdom with others!  (If you have 3+ years of experience, become a Go Far Volunteer)