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Blog Archive: Vermont Spotlights
Nathan Hickey first started mentoring 19-year-old Dakota Eddy three years ago, when she was a sophomore at Mill River Union High School. Working through the GEAR UP program, Nathan is part of a team of VSAC Outreach Counselors throughout the state who offer guidance and support to middle- and high…
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In the fall of 2020, Michelle Legere walked into the sophomore-class advisory group at Richford Junior-Senior High School to introduce herself as a brand-new VSAC Outreach Counselor. Even on her very first day at work, she knew that Xavier Wood was a standout. “The students took turns introducing…
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During the spring of his senior year at Burr & Burton Academy, Nick Williams had several college acceptance letters sitting on his desk. But, he recalls saying to his parents at the time, “I have no idea how I’m going to afford this.” “It kind of soured the process for me,” says Nick, now 24. “I…
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“Job interviews are not fun, especially when you’re awful at talking to new people. I kind of have to push myself over the cliff, and just go.” That statement could easily apply to any 22-year-old looking to make his way in the world. But for Vaughn Winter of Barre, who struggles with a combination…
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Burlington High School senior Sahra Hassan has twice been recognized as being among the top students in the country and part of the nation’s most promising STEM talent. But you’d never know it in talking to her. This hardworking and high-achieving student comes across, first and foremost, as humble…
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Dylan Tanner of Newport is a father of two (soon to be three) young children, ages 7, 4, and a new baby due in a couple of weeks. He served his state and his country for seven years in the Vermont National Guard, and this winter, he’s delivering fuel to his neighbors in the Northeast Kingdom. Both…
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When college-bound Rhiana Carr was starting her final year at Fair Haven Union High School and thinking about next steps, the top-ranked college just 18 miles down the road from her home in Orwell wasn’t initially on her application list. Even though Middlebury College was very familiar to her—given…
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Because of COVID-19, 18-year-old Sophia Desrochers wasn’t able to walk across the stage at a traditional high school graduation, and she wasn’t able to attend her senior prom. In fact, she wasn’t even able to visit the college she chose to attend, having to rely instead on a description of the…
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When Mimi Duong’s parents emigrated from war-torn and politically tense Vietnam in the 1980s, they wanted more opportunities and a safe place for their children to grow up. They ended up in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, where they started a successful business and sent all four of their children to…
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Elizabeth “Lizzie” Brown just graduated from Craftsbury Academy last week. Lizzie joined the GEAR UP program later on in high school but has taken advantage of the program as a resource to help her finalize the details of her college plans and learn how to pay for college. She persisted through the…
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