If anyone knows how challenging and layered the transition from high school to college is, it’s our awardees. That’s why two of them, Angie Ortiz and Vicktoria Phanthavong, decided to put together a guide to college for current and future awardees. The result is JMB Award’s The Girls with Grit Guide to College.
“Like many first-generation college students, I did not have family to turn to with questions regarding college,” Vicktoria explained. “I wanted to create this guide to share with other awardees what I wish I knew throughout my college experience, giving college advice as an older sister.”
The guide covers the areas Angie and Vicktoria felt were most critical for a first version: academics, dorm life, money, health, relationships and work. They worked with Elena Shomos, a mentor, and Fran Melmed, JMB Award’s founder and acting executive director, to flesh out what information should be covered in each of these areas and then what resources—JMB Award-specific, on-campus, and self-advocacy—to highlight.
Shared with our awardees in January, we recognize this resource could be useful to other first-generation students (as well as any college-going student), so we’re making it public.
“We hope the Girls with Grit Guide to College serves as a blueprint for girls entering college/university,” said Angie. “We hope the advice in this guide will make the path to higher education—and through it— easier to navigate.”
Angie and Vick are the first “girls with grit” to add to this guide. They hope they’re not the last. That’s why they refer to this guide as version 1.0. As Angie said, “We hope this first version inspires other awardees to contribute to the guide and add their input. We hope the Girls with Grit Guide continues to grow!”