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C2 Education

College application essays are a vital component of any application. Members learned how to tackle these unique writing tasks so that you can put your best foot forward in your applications. We discussed how to identify unique topics and leverage your personal voice to set yourself apart from other competitive applicants.

U.S. Department of State

The U.S. Department of State's Youth Programs Division offers fully funded high school study abroad opportunities for international and U.S. high school students. Hosting international students fosters mutual understanding and global perspectives. U.S. students participating in overseas exchange experiences immerse themselves in other cultures, build global competencies, and return with valuable insights and skills. These programs deepen cross-cultural understanding and inspire collaboration across borders.

University of Maryland Eastern Shore

Clinton College

Florida A&M University

Attendees heard from representatives of several HBCUs discuss the history, culture, and academic opportunities at Historically Black Colleges & Universities.

Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD)

From the world’s leading university for creative careers, Stand Up, Speak��Up, Start Up is a brilliant new guide designed to help emerging entrepreneurs cultivate their gift of invention and pursue their dreams.

Prequel

Think your passions are useless? Think again.

In this hands-on workshop, attendees learned how to turn their passion into a world-class project to help them stand out on college applications and unlock incredible opportunities like internships, speaking opportunities, and media.

Global Co Lab Network

The Global Co Lab Network shared their programming about how teens can be changemakers working with other teens weekly in a one-hour virtual gathering space to learn skills, make an impact, get service hours, and great networking opportunities, including the chance to go to the High-Level Political Forum at the United Nations yearly where the SDGs are implemented. See their Instagram for recent photos! @globalcolabnetwork

Talk Show Host for 21Alive (WPTA-TV)

Event Emcee, Vice President of Communications, ����Ӱ�� Fellows Executive Board

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Tony Betton Jr. is a Talk Show Host & Executive Producer of INsight on 21Alive in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Tony joined ����Ӱ�� in 2013 as a junior in high school. He was nominated by Usher’s New Look and hit the ground running after joining. After becoming a lifetime member, he joined the ambassador program and interned in the Atlanta HQ for 3 summer mailing campaigns. He has also traveled to multiple D.C. & Atlanta Scholars Day events to speak and be a panelist and emcee. Tony has received several ����Ӱ�� scholarships, including the Aflac scholarship, and currently serves as the VP of Communications on the Fellows board.��

Tony is a native of Atlanta, GA, and graduated from Georgia State University ('19), where he studied broadcast journalism, public relations, and entertainment media management. He then went on to become a weekday morning news anchor and special projects reporter for 21Alive in Fort Wayne, IN. In addition to his current talk show host role, he is a Gray Television ambassador and the On-Court Emcee for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants (NBA G League).��

He serves on the planning committee for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana’s Black Business Card Party. He is an alumnus of the Usher’s New Look Foundation, having just celebrated ten years in the program. He is also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the founder of his own media company, The REP Zone.

Before 21Alive, Tony was a studio production intern for ABC News' Good Morning America in NYC and completed internships with Channel 2 Action News (WSB-TV), the Boys and Girls Clubs of America Headquarters, Ryan Seacrest Studios, & FOX 5 Atlanta (WAGA).��

When he is not reporting, you may find Tony volunteering in the community, hosting special events, public speaking, finding more ways to build his brand, and hanging out with friends and family. He also loves to inspire others to find their passions and follow their dreams. #LitJournalist

Tony was also recently awarded the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award & Volunteer Service��Award Medal in 2023!

Program Officer,�� U.S. Department of State

Katherine David-Fox has been a Program Officer in the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Youth Programs Division since 2011. She currently works on the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program for students from countries with a significant Muslim population and the Youth Exchange and Study Abroad (YES Abroad) program for U.S. students.

She holds an A.B. in Slavic Languages and Literature from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in history from Yale University. Before joining the Department of State, she taught European history at The Ohio State University and the University of Maryland. She is a past president of the Czechoslovak Studies Association. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband, and she has two sons in college.

U.S. Department of State Study Abroad and Hosting Opportunities Saturday Workshop

Founder & General Manager, CollegeAdvisor.com

Brian is the Founder of CollegeAdvisor.com, an online college admissions counseling company that has helped over 8,000 families in the US and more than 60 countries globally.

CollegeAdvisor has over 300 former Admissions Officers and Advisors who offer students personalized one-on-one guidance through every step of the college admissions process, including school research and college list creation, extracurricular and profile development, essay editing, financial aid, and merit scholarships, interview prep, and more.��CollegeAdvisor is one of the highest-rated admissions consulting companies in the world, with a 4.8 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot on nearly 400 verified customer reviews. The CollegeAdvisor team also loves to give back, having donated over $500,000 of pro-bono college advising to students from lower-income and first-generation backgrounds.

Brian graduated with Distinction from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce,��where he studied Finance and Analytics as a Jefferson and Echols Scholar on a full academic��scholarship.

Achieving Your College Admissions Goals in 2024 Friday Session

Senior Admissions Specialist, CollegeAdvisor.com

Ferrell has served in the College Admissions industry for over 13 years with the majority of that time being at Vanderbilt University. While at Vanderbilt, Ferrell served as the Chief International Admissions Officer, oversaw Vandy’s largest domestic recruitment program, and was one of the 7 primary members of the Admissions Committee.

Achieving Your College Admissions Goals in 2024 Friday session

Founding Director, Global Co Lab Network

Linda Staheli is the founding Director of the Global Co Lab Network, a global non-profit based in Arlington, VA, at globalcolab.net, which focuses on empowering the next generation of global change-makers addressing the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Before this, for twenty-five years, she managed global science engagements and coordinated science diplomacy policy and initiatives, working for several government and private sector organizations, including the White House, the State Department, the National Institutes of Health, and CRDF Global.

Linda has served in various��volunteer capacities, including co-president of Women in International Security (WIIS) and the Global-Health Education Low-Cost Publications (HELP) Advisory Board. She has an M.A. in Public Management focusing on national security studies from the School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland, and a B.A. in International Studies from the Jackson School of International Studies, University of Washington in Seattle.

Engaging Teens Globally as Changemakers Saturday Workshop

Chief Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Officer, ALSAC

Ericka is the Chief Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Officer for ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, driving the development and implementation of programs, education, tools, and initiatives to create and ensure a diverse culture of equity and belonging.

Her team builds upon established programs and spearheads strategic initiatives to ensure ALSAC is a culturally competent and inclusive organization that promotes diversity of thought, background, and experiences for employees, patients' families, and supporters.

Ericka has more than 20 years of experience leading diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at global Fortune 500 companies such as Unum, Sedgwick, and BAE Systems and nonprofits, including the American Cancer Society and American Red Cross, Blood Services.

Her specialty is creating safe learning spaces where employees can make connections across differences and engage in dialogue that creates culture change through her deep understanding of human behavior and organizational psychology.

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Ericka holds a degree in Speech Communication from Bradley University and a Strategic Diversity and Inclusion Management Certification from Georgetown University located in Washington D.C.

Saturday Future Focused Panel and St. Jude Closing Remarks

Founder/Financial Aid Expert, College Aid Pro

Matt started his college planning career in 2005 after realizing both he and his��parents had made some major mistakes in navigating the college admissions and��financial aid processes.
It became Matt’s mission to show other families how to avoid making similar��mistakes in one of the biggest investments of their lives. Today, Matt is recognized��as one of the nation’s leading authorities within the College Funding niche and has��been recognized by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox, ABC, NBS, and��more.
When he’s not busy saving families from the college loan crisis, Matt enjoys��hanging out with his wife, Rosey, their daughter, Emma, and their lab, Tommy. They reside in Beverly, MA.

How to Maximize College Financial Aid and ����Ӱ�� Friday PARENT Session

Associate Director of Admission, Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD)

Kate Brown is an Associate Director of Admission at SCAD. She earned her BA in French and Francophone Studies at Davidson College, where she was a Division I track and cross country runner and actively involved in the theatre program. Upon graduation, she served as an English teacher through the Peace Corps in Cambodia. Kate began her admissions career at Princeton University. She then switched to the other side of the desk as an independent educational consultant with Expert Admissions in Manhattan. Eager to return to the South and combine her passion for higher education and the arts, Kate joined the admissions team at SCAD. She briefly left the university when her husband's job took them to South Carolina, where she served as the Director of Admissions for Cross Schools. In Kate's current role as Associate Director of Admission, she visits independent schools throughout the southeast and advises students in the admission process.

Stand Up, Speak Up, Start Up, The SCAD Guide for Creative Entrepreneurs Saturday Workshop

Senior Policy Advisor on Diversity and Inclusion, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

����Ӱ�� Foundation Board Member

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In January 2020, Mr. Marchman was appointed to the new position of Senior Policy Advisor on Diversity and Inclusion at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. His responsibilities include advising the Commission Chairman and OMWI Director on the development and implementation of strategies to promote diversity and inclusion both within the SEC and through external engagement with agency partners and market participants. In addition, Mr. Marchman will assist the agency’s ongoing efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in underserved portions of the investor community.

As a native of Brooklyn, New York, and now residing in New Jersey, Mr. Marchman is a magna cum laude graduate of Allegheny College, where he was also inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and completed Harvard Business School’s Management Development Program. He became the first African American Executive Vice President at the New York Stock Exchange in the early 1990s. He has served as chairman of the Exchange’s Diversity Council since its inception in 1999.

Since then, Mr. Marchman’s career and community involvement have led important initiatives to support mentoring and financial literacy outreach to communities of color and enhancing the plight of youth by serving on a number of New Jersey school district committees. While he has been recognized for multiple professional accomplishments, most recently, he was awarded as the National Bar Association’s “2019 Corporate Lawyer of the Year.”

Saturday Future Focused Panel��

Director Academic Content & Curriculum, C2 Education

Ashley Zahn is an expert in college admissions with over 16 years of experience at C2 Education, one of the nation’s top tutoring, test prep, and college admissions counseling providers. As the Director of Content and Curriculum, Ashley has played an instrumental role in guiding countless high school students towards their college goals. Most recently, Ashley and her team have developed a comprehensive test prep solution for the new digital SAT, featuring more than 16,000 practice questions. Driven by a passion for education, Ashley is dedicated to supporting students as they navigate the challenging path to higher education. She firmly believes in empowering students with college admissions guidance to maximize their potential and set them on a path to success.

Explain Who You Are in 650 Words or Less Saturday Workshop

Senior Vice President, Rosica

Kathy’s 30-year PR career has focused on building awareness for and leading PR initiatives to support corporate and education industry organizations. Kathy brings energy, passion, and strategy to her work, which results in productive collaborations, lasting partnerships, and measurable results. Her education-related client experience encompasses work on behalf of ����Ӱ��, Behrman House, American Student Assistance (ASA), The Language Conservancy, Newark Trust for Education, NJ SEEDS, and numerous others. Prior to joining Rosica, for two decades, Kathy worked at the third largest PR agency in the U.S. and had her own media training business for three years. She also served as an adjunct professor of business writing at Drew University and is an advocate for students with learning disabilities. Kathy earned her B.A. from Williams College and will speak to you all today about “building your own personal brands.”��

“Brand U – Building Your Personal Brand” Saturday Workshop

Student Outreach Program Manager, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

Elise is an Outreach Program Manager at the Central Intelligence Agency. She has been with the CIA since 2021. Before her current role, Elise served as a Targeting Officer in the Directorate of Operations. Before joining the CIA, Elise spent four years at the National Security Agency. Elise is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, and has a Master’s degree in Forensic Psychology. She enjoys being able to make a career by educating students on the various opportunities that the CIA has to offer. In her free time, you can find her hanging out with her cats or playing video games.

CIA: Discover the Possibilities Friday Session

Recruiting Operations Office (ROO), U.S. Army ROTC

Randy Ray/GS11 is a Valdosta, GA native who joined the Army in 1990. He attended the United States Army Recruiting School and serves as a United States Army Instructor for their Training Development course. He has served as a Tactical Satellite Operator and Human Resource Specialist, and currently serves as Recruiting Operations Officer for Georgetown University. He completed a tour of duty in Afghanistan back in the early 2000’s and has received numerous awards, including: an Army Recruiter Badge and the United States Army Glen E. Morrel Order of Recruiting Award. He is currently serving as Georgetown University’s Army ROTC Recruiting Operations Officer and has also served as an Assistant Little League Baseball Coach for the last three years.��

Documentary Film Maker, Prequel

Grace is a teen on a mission: flattening the cancer curve by 2040. Grace is researching the intersection of food & epigenetics. The documentary she wrote, produced, and filmed, Cancer: A Food-Borne Illness, was released on March 27th and has over 5 million views. Grace has networked with experts like Andrew Huberman and Dr. Thomas Seyfried. Grace has built a following of 40k+ on Twitter, which helped her land an internship with a Stanford and Harvard-educated Medtech founder.

Find Your Passion and Purpose. And turn it into something BIG! Saturday Workshop

Fellows Executive Board Vice President

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Josie is a current student at Stanford Law School and works as a McDonald Student Fellow at the Hoover Institution. She is the Co-President of Stanford Law’s Paul Lomio Veterans Legal Assistance Program, a member of Stanford Medicine’s Rural Health Project, and a regular VA Palo Alto volunteer. She is also an editor on the Stanford Law & Policy Review and a member of the Honorable William A. Ingram Inn of Court.��

Prior to law school, Josie graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College in 2020. She has worked in the legal industry, college admissions consulting, and in the fintech startup space. Josie completed her postbaccalaureate studies through the Harvard Premedical Program in 2023 and interned at MGH’s Wellman Center for Photomedicine. She still dedicates time to medical research and publication and plans to pursue a career that draws on both the legal and medical fields. In her free time, Josie loves to travel, bake, and spend time with friends. She loves volunteering with ����Ӱ�� and is proud to serve as the Fellows Executive Board Vice President.

Scholar's Day D.C. Speaker,�� Saturday

Fellows Executive Board President

Laura Amortegui is a Colombian American who has been living in the D.C. area for the past 20 years. She currently works at Cambium Assessment Inc. in business development and finances, working on writing and developing proposals. Previously, at American Institutes for Research, Georgetown University, and the Center for Intercultural Development and Education, she coordinated the learning exchange between international students, Georgetown professors, and businesses in the area. She earned her M.B.A. and B.A. in Communications at Loyola University Maryland. Laura is also the proud current President of the ����Ӱ�� Fellows Executive Board!

Scholar's Day D.C. Speaker,  Friday

U.S. Army ROTC

Brig. Gen. Steven M. King received his commission from the Illinois Institute of Technology in May of 1996 into the U.S. Army Reserve and earned a BS in Business Administration (Marketing Management). He also holds an MBA in Military Management from Trident University International and an MA in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College.

He began his career with the 336th Adjutant General Company (Postal) in Sheffield, Alabama, serving as a Platoon Leader. He went on to serve as Aide-de-Camp for the 81st Regional Support Command in Birmingham, Alabama. He then served with the 678th Personnel Services Battalion in Nashville, Tennessee as the Detachment Commander, Detachment 1. Following this assignment, he served from November 2002 to October 2005 as Company Commander for the 912th Adjutant General Postal Company out of Orlando, Florida, with deployment from March 2003 to March 2004 to Baghdad, Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Colonel King was then assigned to U.S. Army Human Resources Command in Alexandria, Virginia, where he served as Wounded in Action Branch Officer in Charge. He went on to serve as the Group S1 and HHC Commander for the 2nd Psychological Operations Group, Twinsburg, Ohio. Colonel King then joined the United States Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia, where he served as Human Resources Director/S1 for the Army Reserve Element, as well as Human Resources Director/S1 for the Army Reserve Element, Joint Staff from 2009 to 2011. Following this assignment, he served as the Chief, Personal/Administration for U.S. Army Reserve Element in the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Suffolk, Virginia.

King was then assigned to Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, where he served as Company Commander, Third Army Augmentation Company. He went on to serve as Detailed Inspector General with U.S. Army Reserve Command at Fort Liberty, North Carolina. He then took command of 3d Battalion, 337th Regiment at Fort Knox, Kentucky, before attending the United States Naval War College from July 2017 to July 2018. Following his attendance at the Naval War College, Colonel King was assigned to the Office of the Secretary of Defense in Washington, DC, as the Assistant Director of Personnel Programs, followed by the Senior United States Army Reserve Advisor, Reserve Forces Policy Board. He was then assigned to the United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, where he served as the Assistant Chief of Staff, G1. Prior to joining U.S. Army Cadet Command, King served as the Deputy Director-Reserve Component, Director, Military Personnel Management in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff G1, Headquarters for the Department of the Army in Washington, DC.

King has completed operations assignments in Support of Operation Spartan Shield in Jordan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq. His decorations and badges include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal (with Bronze OLC), Meritorious Service Medal (with 2 Bronze OLC), Army Commendation Medal (with Bronze OLC), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Parachutist Badge, and the Office of the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge.

Saturday Future Focused Panel & closing remarks

CEO and Managing Partner, INTETHIQ

����Ӱ�� Foundation Board

Mr. Alan K. Nevel is the CEO and Managing Partner of INTETHIQ, a noteworthy firm offering a portfolio of professional services to equip businesses with the necessary tools to navigate significant shifts in culture, leadership, talent, and digital platforms.

Prior to the inception of INTETHIQ in 2023, Alen served as Senior Vice President, Chief Equity and Community Impact Officer at The MetroHealth System of Cleveland, Ohio. In this role, he also served as chief designer to MetroHealth’s comprehensive vision of diversity, equity, and inclusion at both programmatic and administrative levels. Alan’s professional trajectory has provided guidance and thoughtful insights around matters of diversity and inclusion for multiple well-known brands, including: Thermo Fisher Scientific, L Brands and Victoria Secret, Sherwin Williams Company, and Accenture.

He is a dynamic speaker and educator who completed his undergraduate study at Cleveland State University and received his M.B.A. from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management...a school where is he now an Adjunct Professor in the WOSOM Healthcare MBA Program. Alan serves on many local and national boards, in addition to the ����Ӱ�� Foundation Board, including: The MetroHealth Foundation, Urban League of Greater Cleveland, New Bridge Cleveland, and The Cleveland State University Foundation...where in 2020, he established the Alan K. Nevel and Family Scholarship Endowment – a scholarship program for underrepresented students at his alma mater.