Elizabeth Parks – College Adviser at Everett Area HS

 Some meaningful moments for me:

 Watching my relationships with students grow over their junior and then senior years and getting to know them well enough to write highly detailed and very meaningful recommendations for their scholarship applications; being able to witness their growth as mature young adults and know that I played a role in the next phase of their lives.

 Following through with certain students on every single step of the process - initial meetings during junior year, college searches, registration for SAT, college applications, administering placement exams, filling out housing forms, calling admissions & financial aid offices with questions, anticipating and relieving the student's concerns about post-secondary life.

 Having younger students follow up with me after classroom presentations. Sophomores and even freshmen have stopped by, asking to talk with me about college and career choices shortly after listening to me in their classes. They want to start planning ahead and I am anxious to help them.

 Working closely with parents regarding college. Offering the time, attention, and follow-up research that my counselor is often unable to give them because of her innumerable other commitments. One particularly proud moment was the obvious gratitude a father expressed to me when I tirelessly worked to make sure that his daughter was eligible to apply for a considerably sized local scholarship. It was a single parent household with medical issues and the student really needed the scholarship money. However, the deadline was before she was to receive her acceptance letter from the college. I made numerous inquiries on both sides - the admissions counselor at the college and the local scholarship committee contact person - to ensure that the deadline was extended for her and to affirm that she was indeed accepted to the school. It all worked out in the end.