Essence’s Success Story

Inspiration came naturally for Essence. Bubbly, optimistic and driven, she loved motivating others, preferably with a microphone in hand. At Henry Foss high school in Tacoma, she discovered her passion for public speaking, delivering morning announcements, emceeing pep rallies, and taking every opportunity to practice connecting with a crowd.

She set her sights on a career in radio, and a degree in broadcast communications. Raised by a hardworking single mother who prized education, she never doubted that she’d attend college. But as she began to plan for college, she realized a massive obstacle in her path: Paying for her education.

“My family has a military background and education is important. I never doubted that I’d go to college. But paying for it was the challenge, because my mom is a single parent,” she says. Though Essence’s family provided emotional support, she still had to find a way to fund her goals. When it came to paying for college, she was on her own.

Higher education’s price tag can become a massive roadblock, stalling students on their path to college. But Essence had a map to navigate her course, thanks to College Success Foundation. As a student body leader at Foss, she was a regular in the school’s college and career center. There, she met her school’s on-campus CSF College Prep Advisor, who led her to the CSF Achievers Scholars program for eleventh and twelfth grade students.

Throughout Essence’s junior and senior years, her advisor, Colleen, helped Essence stay on her college path, whether she had questions about financial aid, needed help with an application, wanted information about a scholarship—or if she simply needed encouragement. “In high school, I was busy and it was a little overwhelming, but having a mentor on-campus helped keep me on track with applications and accountability,” she says. Essence also took part in ACE, the summer program for Achievers Scholars that provided targeted support and college pathway planning.

Her senior year, Essence learned she’d received a scholarship from College Success Foundation, which would support her university studies at an in-state school. The scholarship was an enormous blessing, she says, and a key turning point in her college path—she was able to select a school that seemed right for her, instead of simply selecting the closest, cheapest option.

She settled on Seattle University for its strong broadcast program and small class sizes, graduating with a communications degree in 2007. At SU, she learned how to connect, lead, and persuade, skills she refined when she earned a master’s degree from Gonzaga in 2012. Soon after, she was hired by a local agency to host a panel discussion for foster youth, and she found a passion for helping families in crisis. Today, she serves as director of the Southwest Youth and Family Services Center in West Seattle. This fall, she began her first term on CSF’s Alumni Board of Directors.

“Support from College Success Foundation was 100 percent critical to my college success,” she says. “That’s why I decided to stay involved as a member of the Alumni board. I want to give back and help CSF reach more students like me.”