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Meritus has entered the busiest season of our 15th year, and the office is buzzing with excitement as we scramble to select the newest group of Meritus Scholars! In the midst of our selection process, we are all also hard at work continuing our student coaching, mentoring, and Career Connections programs.
Read on for information on how to help us celebrate our 15th year by entering our 15 For 15 Essay Contest, where you can share your story and win some cool prizes. Also in this newsletter are some tips for the FAFSA, info about our upcoming Resume Writing Workshops, and a new Scholar Highlight featuring 2008 Meritus Scholar Geanna Mohamed!
As always, let Cedrick or Danielle know if there is anything you need, and have a wonderful finish to your current semester or quarter!
In community,
Cedrick Andrews and Danielle Pizzi
Student Relations Team
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Win a 16GB iPod Nano or a $50 gift card!
Help Meritus Celebrate Its 15th Anniversary!
Enter our 15 For 15 Essay Contest and share your story! The top fifteen essays will be entered in a raffle to win one of five awesome prizes,
Submit your 400 word essay to scholars@meritusfund.org by March 15th. Your essay should tell us about where you came from, what you're up to now, and how Meritus has helped you and where you plan to go from here.
We will be looking at content, not just writing skills. Submit your essay today! Feel free to contact us with any questions.
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Scholar Spotlight
Geanna Mohamed, 2008 Scholar
Geanna Mohamed graduated from Mission High School in 2008, and as she describes it, she knew she was going to college at the age of three because she "realized the struggle that surrounded" her. Growing up in public housing projects, she was keenly aware of the negative influences in her environment - everything from "screams, to the gunshots, to the fights." It helps that she started working at age 14, mostly to provide for herself and contribute to her family's expenses, but also to escape the trouble that lurked all around her neighborhood. Today, as a junior at the University of Rochester and a fashion intern at GQ in New York City, Geanna's environment is radically different as she pursues her dream of attending college and embarking on a successful career.
The path to where she is now - walking on a leafy private college campus in Rochester or among the gleaming high rise buildings of Manhattan - hasn't been easy, but she knew from an early age not to "take anything for granted." Geanna has always been a strong advocate for herself even when money was tight, support was limited, or trusted bonds strained to the breaking point. That perseverance will continue to serve her well as she wraps up a degree in May 2012. After that, Geanna will likely pursue a job or career in Public Relations doing Event Planning, but she is keeping her options open. After all, that's one of the benefits of a college education - opening doors to opportunity that may not have existed before. Geanna said it best in her application: "what occurred before college was nothing but the prologue. I will strive for nothing less than greatness wherever I am." We tend to agree with Geanna.
Tell Meritus how you're doing, and you may be featured in the next Scholar Spotlight!
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Meritus on Facebook!
 If you're not already a friend of Meritus online, add us today! We regularly post job and internship announcements, and Cedrick and Danielle are always happy to chat if you see them online. |
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Need Help With Your Resume?
Register for one of our Resume Writing Workshops TODAY!
Meritus is excited to announce TWO dates for our Resume Writing Workshop. Come to one, or both!
Tuesday, March 8th: A webinar training that will focus on the basics of writing a professional resume and cover letter.
Register for the Resume Writing Webinar!
Tuesday, March 22nd: A two hour in-depth workshop that will briefly review the basics, but will focus on individual assistance in editing your current resume and cover letter.
Register for the Resume Writing Workshop!
See you there!
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Campus Resource Project
Is there someone at your school who has been particularly helpful to you? Let us know! Cedrick and Danielle are working on compiling a list of helpful people and offices or organizations on your college campus to share with other scholars.
Pay that good deed forward and let us know who has helped you along the way. |
Time to Renew Your FAFSA
If you haven't renewed your FAFSA yet, you still have a day, so get going! You can renew after March 2nd, but funding priority for Cal Grants is given to those students who complete it by that deadline.
Some websites look an awful lot like the FAFSA website, but will try to charge you a fee after you've painstakingly completed all the forms. Be sure to only submit information on the official FAFSA website:
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
Avoid websites like fafsa.com, which will try to charge you upwards of eighty bucks for their "professional assistance." If you have questions about the FAFSA, feel free to contact Cedrick, Student Relations Manager and in-house financial aid guru.
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