Oceanside CA— College Bound Oceanside held their Scholarship Finale Saturday morning at El Camino High School in the Truax Theater. The group handed out over $7,000.00 in total to almost 30 students throughout Oceanside, Vista and Carlsbad in the College Bound Program.
The program, in partnership with the Oceanside Unified School District, is open to all 9th through 12th grade students. “We work with parents and students to make sure they graduate from high school and have the option to attend college” said College Bound Oceanside co-Founder and CEO, Dr. Darlene V. Willis, Ph.D.
The program is different than most as it involves the parents heavily throughout the course of the students high school years. “Parents, guardians or responsible adult are required to attend monthly meetings so they can learn how to navigate the educational system and support their child so the have a chance at going college.” continued Dr. Willis, “Students do community service, public speaking and go on college tours. Again, our goal is to make sure our students graduate and they have post secondary education choices.”
There is no minimum GPA for students to join the program, “Some student may come to us with a 0.7 GPA and they progress through the year. We have other students that come to us with 4.0 or 4.5. They do their college prep work, their community service work together and give back to the community.” Dr. Willis continued “What makes it all special is the working relationship with the parent or guardian because when the kid goes back home, that parent or guardian has influence. What we try to do is empower them and build up that self-esteem so they believe in themselves. It’s so important that families are engaged and understand the process.”
The organization has given over a million dollars in scholarships since their founding. To learn more about College Bound Oceanside, visit their website- http://www.collegeboundsd.com/
College Bound Oceanside Awards Scholarships
May 23, 2016