Alexis Oakley, ACT Scholar, University of Iowa Ph.D. student
I am currently in the educational measurement and statistics program in the Department of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations in the College of Education. I recently finished my Master of Arts in May and am currently working on my Ph.D.
Juanito Piper, ACT Scholar and Kirkwood Community College student
I started working labor jobs young to earn money and doing so helped guide my values and gain a respect for every type of job out there. I just personally sat back and evaluated my future and didn’t want to work a manual labor job the rest of my life.
Fatima Lopez, ACT Scholar and Kirkwood Community College student
The biggest challenge I experienced being a first-generation college student was the lack of financial support. Our family comes from a humble living, and I am trying to support myself while attending classes. Since my mother and siblings could not attend college, I did not have the knowledge or the experience to navigate applying to get into college. I also did not know the resources and support teams available to me.
Lauryn Lovett, ACT summer communications intern
One of best things that you can do is apply for anything and everything you have an interest in. I am not the best writer, and I don’t feel like I had all the skills listed for my internship position, but I was interested in developing those skills, so I applied. If I only applied for roles that I had all the skills for, I would be overqualified and leave no room for myself to develop my skills and abilities.
Nelson Rhomberg, ACT Scholar and Kirkwood Community College student
More than a decade ago, as part of ACT’s 50th anniversary celebration, ACT established the ACT Scholars Program, as part of a pair of endowments to
Tae Jordan, ACT Scholar and Kirkwood Community College student
More than a decade ago, as part of ACT’s 50th anniversary celebration, ACT established the ACT Scholars Program, as part of a pair of endowments to
Mutasim Ahmed, ACT Scholar and Kirkwood Community College student
More than a decade ago, as part of ACT’s 50th anniversary celebration, ACT established the ACT Scholars Program, as part of a pair of endowments to
Perla Muro, ACT Scholar and student, Kirkwood Community College
More than a decade ago, as part of ACT’s 50th anniversary celebration, ACT established the ACT Scholars Program, as part of a pair of endowments to
Kossi Boluvi, Kirkwood Community College student and ACT Scholar
More than a decade ago, as part of ACT’s 50th anniversary celebration, ACT established the ACT Scholars Program, as part of a pair of endowments to
Nick Sproull, Ed.D., K12 & educator engagement, myOptions®
This article originally appeared in the June 2021 American College Application Campaign newsletter. If you work in education long enough, you’ll eventually see or hear
Stay informed through ACT’s Center for Equity in Learning blog which offers thought leadership and reflective pieces on barriers and solutions to help students who are systemically underserved achieve education and career success.
