VSAC will be closed Thursday, July 4, 2024 in observance of Independence Day.
Blog Archive: Searching for a College
VSAC Counselor Tia Stillman and Orwell student Olivia Scher bonded over their goals and drive to help people – as well as being people of color in a small Vermont town. As a kid, Olivia Scher was one of very few people of color in tiny Orwell, Vermont. One other person was her elementary school…
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Middle school students engaged with hands-on exhibits at STEM fairs in Castleton and the Northeast Kingdom. At two bustling events earlier this month at both ends of Vermont, hundreds of 7th and 8th graders came together for hands-on career exploration. Kingdom Career Connect and the Northeast…
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When Mimi Duong was applying to college during her senior year at St. Johnsbury Academy, she found herself at a bit of a disadvantage, since her parents, who had emigrated to Vermont from Vietnam, weren’t totally familiar with the American college admissions system. When we last spoke with her in…
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If you have a middle school or high school student, you may want to add college and career planning to your annual back-to-school to-do list. It’s never too early for students to start thinking about their lives beyond high school: preparation can start as early as 7th and 8th grade. And if you have…
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When David Richardson was seven years old, his world turned upside down. His relatively comfortable middle-class household, supported by two parents who both held good jobs – his mom as a substance use counselor, his dad as a corrections officer – changed, literally, with one wrong step. His father…
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When Brody Moran works with kids – either as a substitute teacher at Cabot School in his hometown during his college breaks, or this summer as a counselor at Turtle Island camp – he never asks a child what they want to be when they grow up. “Some people love asking that question, because it provokes…
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Blue Mountain Union High School seniors (left to right) Sera Brooks, Jada Longmoore, Avery Nelson, Gabby Houghton and Lauren Joy. “If it wasn’t for Kassidy, I would be going to a school I didn’t love, because I didn’t realize how little UVM was going to cost me.” “If Kassidy hadn’t convinced me to…
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When David Tabaruka started as the Financial Controller for the Community College of Vermont last March, the new job felt like a homecoming and a triumph. “I said, hey, I’ve been here before – but this time, I’m part of the staff rather than a student,” he says with a broad smile. “It feels really…
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Philip Malazarte of Chester is “a young man who is going places,” says his VSAC outreach counselor, Jessi Krause Herron. “He has been committed to the nursing field since ninth grade and has been learning all he can to prepare. And he’s a standout member of his community, caring for others and going…
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Throughout her childhood and adolescence, 18-year-old Sapphire Jackson yearned to discover what she was great at and what could become her life’s passion. But, unable to articulate the nuance she saw between aspiration and ambition, her family didn’t see a way to reconcile college and career with…
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