Wynter Fayson, Richmond Community High School Class of 2019. Old Dominion University, 2024, Psychology, with double minor in Management and Communications.
How did GRASP help you?
My GRASP advisor, Ms. Martha Vick, helped me in high school by opening my options up college-wise! I always knew that I was going to attend college, but because I was low-income, I just assumed that I was limited in my approach to higher education. I never knew that I qualified for so many grants, and federal programs targeted toward students like myself. Ms. Vick opened up my world to all sorts of possibilities regarding colleges and effective financing! In college, GRASP College Success helped me by publishing its monthly newsletters! I treated them like advice columns and had many times where I was interested in information that the newsletter presented to me, so I went hunting for more. Information such as scholarships available, ways to get involved in university, tips to better resumes, correctly communicating your professional experience and so on, are essential for having a successful experience in college.
What are you doing now?
I have just wrapped up an exciting internship at a major company and am focused on graduating in May!
What advice would you give to high school students?
One piece of educational advice I would give to high school students would be to volunteer! There's always something going on in your local community and that thing could be a big interest of yours. Or not! You never know until you try, and that goes for degrees and careers as well. Enjoying something is vastly different from working on that something or doing that something for the foreseeable future. Get out and go experience what interests you, (or what you think interests you!) before you commit to a 4-year degree.
What was your biggest challenge on your educational journey?
The biggest life challenge I have faced relative to my career path has been deciding what direction that I want to take after I graduate from college. Should I complete a Master's degree immediately after graduating? Or work while completing my Master's? I'm unsure right now, and that's okay. Whatever I choose will be the best choice for me when it's time to make that choice.
If you are a former GRASP student and would like to share your story, email Paula Buckley, pbuckley@grasp4va.org.
