Terri Colello knows how daunting, difficult and even scary it can be to finish high school while at the same time preparing for the next step in life. She has helped two children through the process of setting post-graduation goals, applying to colleges and securing financial aid.
Now, as a volunteer with On With Life (OWL), a program that began this year at Vashon High School, Colello is helping other high school seniors prepare for life after graduation.
“We help guide people through those mysteries,” Colello joked. “Except we’re not yelling at you like parents.”
Volunteers with OWL, stationed at the “OWL’s nest” in the school’s main lobby three lunchtimes a week, are helping soon-to-be graduates with everything from filling out college applications and looking for financial aid to determining what their interests are and applying for jobs. And so far, they say, they seem to be making a difference.
“We had a kid say they didn’t think they could go to college because their parents couldn’t afford it,” said Bonnie McCallister, another volunteer. “Then within a few weeks they had a full scholarship.”
The program was started by PTSA member Laura Hansen, who was inspired when she and superintendent Michael Soltman learned at an awards ceremony about a similar program that was successfully implemented at Bellevue’s high schools.
“I looked to Michael Soltman, and I said, ‘Why don’t we have something like that?’” Hansen recalled.
Hansen asked Islander and college-readiness coach Robin Blair to head up OWL, providing training for the eight parent volunteers, most of whom Hansen said have helped children through the college or job application process at least once before.
“Once you’ve gone through it once with your own kids, you learn all this information,” Hansen said. “It seems like a waste not to use it again, so were trying to tap into that knowledge base.”
The volunteers aren’t meant to replace the school’s guidance counselors, Hansen said, but to augment their help and give students more in-depth assistance where they need it most.
“The counselors don’t necessarily sit down with a student and help edit their essays and help them fill out applications,” she said. “They may guide them, but they don’t have enough time to do that.”
Blair, who has coached high school students from across the state for about a decade, said OWL volunteers want to reach out to all the seniors at VHS, not just those planning to attend college in the fall. The volunteers, she said, are a resource to identify career options, practice for job interviews or discuss what a student could do during a “gap year,” a year off between high school and college. They have even been helping seniors with an essay they all must write as a graduation requirement.
“This program was not designed specifically for kids going to college,” she said. “It was designed to meet the needs of all high school kids.”
Hansen said the the program has been getting great feedback and added that eventually she hopes OWL will work in some way with all grade levels at the high school.
“It’s geared towards helping people have a life plan,” she said.
