{"id":3884,"date":"2021-04-19T16:53:43","date_gmt":"2021-04-19T20:53:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/?p=3884"},"modified":"2025-01-28T09:18:25","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T14:18:25","slug":"college-prep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/magazine\/2021\/04\/college-prep\/","title":{"rendered":"College Prep"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Samantha Sinclair\u2019s Pathway to Purpose helps students from diverse backgrounds\u00a0<\/span><\/span>acclimate to the college application process.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/h6>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

By Katharine Gammon<\/span><\/p>\n

When Samantha Sinclair was a high school senior, she wanted to visit colleges in her home state of New York. But she had no clear path to do so, since there were no college preparation resources at her school or her home. When she was interested in visiting the State University of New York at Fredonia, she bought a Greyhound bus ticket and took an eight-hour ride alone to get there. As challenging as it was to visit a college on her own this way, the in-person visits made it possible for her to envision herself there as a student. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Now Sinclair works to ensure high schoolers from diverse backgrounds have the skills and resources to prepare for college admissions \u2014 minus the long, lonely solo bus rides. \u201cI was able to do it, but many students can\u2019t do it or won\u2019t do it. I wanted to bring the resources right to their schools,\u201d she explains.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2016, Sinclair created Pathway to Purpose, an organization that has partnered with 48 middle schools and high schools to provide early college prep services \u2014 college trips, workshops, financial aid fairs and college awareness days \u2014 to give students and parents the critical information needed to make informed decisions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, Sinclair, now a doctoral candidate in higher education at Seton Hall, was selected\u00a0<\/span>by<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\nAmerican Express for its 100-for-100 Founders of Change program aimed at recognizing and assisting Black women entrepreneurs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sinclair\u2019s interest in this career was sparked when she attended the University at Albany (SUNY), where she was a campus tour guide for the Educational Opportunity Program. She would welcome hundreds of students from New York City to Albany, and through dozens of tours, a few things stuck out: \u201cAll the students had the same questions about affordability, the application process, and sometimes did not feel confident enough to complete the application process.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That memory stuck with her as she completed a master\u2019s degree in higher education at Columbia University in 2010. She still had a great interest in working with underserved students, and she started to work in college prep positions.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sinclair\u2019s goal is to help students make intentional college decisions. Many students are making their way to college despite their socioeconomic backgrounds, she says \u2014 the challenge for colleges is to retain them until graduation. \u201cUnderstanding what factors to consider when choosing a college is key. It\u2019s about making sure students are set up with the mindset, the terminologies and family support to get them through college.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pathway to Purpose tackles these challenges in several ways. It has partnered with schools in 23 districts across New York City, helped more than 10,000 students and started introducing college preparation as early as seventh grade. It hosts college tours for students \u2014 many of whom have never left their hometown, or even their neighborhood, Sinclair says. \u201cFor many students, even going to upstate New York, they say: \u2018This is so different. Where are the trains?\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pathway to Purpose is ultimately about education innovation, Sinclair says. The organization recently created college study flash cards with five categories that allow students to home in on topics around college readiness. The cards explain concepts like FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized loans,\u00a0<\/span>and also<\/span>\u00a0include affirmations that reinforce to students that they can and will succeed.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Katie Smith, an assistant professor of higher education, says Sinclair \u201cstood out as a voice in the interest of equity\u201d during a class she taught in 2019. \u201cSamantha really cares about students coming from underrepresented backgrounds and making sure they have\u00a0<\/span>access<\/span>\u00a0to education.\u201d And while many Seton Hall graduate students work full time, relatively few have a role like Sinclair\u2019s as the head of an organization. This\u00a0<\/span>provides<\/span> a vital perspective in the classroom, Smith says, because she\u2019s in the trenches, doing this work every day. \u201cHigher education is a field that has an opportunity to make a difference in a more equitable society.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For Sinclair, her career is a way to open\u00a0<\/span>doors<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>for others \u2014 doors that she had to push for herself.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAt Pathway to Purpose, we want to make\u00a0<\/span>college<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>preparation easy and digestible, so that people\u00a0<\/span>are<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>not terrified or paralyzed by the process.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Katharine Gammon is a freelance writer based in Santa Monica.<\/i>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Samantha Sinclair\u2019s Pathway to Purpose helps students from diverse backgrounds acclimate to the college application process. <\/p>\n

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