Numberosity and Women’s Money Matters Events
Written by Knovva Academy Staff
In the past couple weeks, the Knovva Academy team hosted two collaborative events for high schoolers and prospective college students! Keep reading to learn more.
Numberosity Personal Statement Workshop
Our first event, held on Friday, June 20th, was a College Essay Writing Workshop with Numberosity Academy. After a previous successful webinar with Numberosity, we decided to partner with the organization again, this time for an in-person workshop.
Numberosity is a non-profit organization based in Lexington, MA dedicated to making STEM more accessible to all students. Though many of their previous sessions have focused on building STEM skills, this event was designed to answer students’ questions about writing their college application essays.
Due to their strong interests in technical fields, STEM students often lack writing experience. Determined to provide them with solutions, Knovva Academy was excited to help Numberosity’s members hone their writing skills, enabling them to effectively express their ideas in essays.
To get warmed up, the students played an exciting game of Kahoot, testing their knowledge of common college application myths. Should your essay be a masterpiece? Should you reveal lots of personal information in your writing? Should you list all of your accomplishments in those 600 words? These were just a few of the questions students were asked.
After the game, Knovva Academy’s counselors Amy Hubbard and Erin Gray introduced the attendees to the Common App personal statement. Walking them through the seven prompts, which remain the same as last year’s, Amy and Erin offered suggestions and tips about how to best select one of the options. Then, the presenters shared key information about writing effective hooks, structuring narratives, and revealing personal details in impactful ways. Finally, we ended the session with a look at how to successfully conclude Common App essays. Given that admissions officers typically spend only 2 minutes on each personal statement, leaving a strong impression is undoubtedly important.
Throughout the course of the workshop, students were given time to practice their own writing. Our presenters shared an informative and interactive pamphlet containing various writing prompts and exercises for the students. This allowed each student to brainstorm their personal values (such as collaboration, communication, and humility) and to write powerful descriptive sentences.
In an interview after the event, one student shared his thoughts on the importance of the latter.
“I like expressing my ideas,” he noted, “so I might want to use vivid description … to help my ideas flow into one,” comparing the process of descriptive writing to painting on a canvas.
Watch the event video:
The group format of the event was effective, as it gave students the opportunity to bounce ideas off of each other and to offer meaningful suggestions. In the end, each student left the event with individualized feedback and concrete material to use in their Common App essay.
Overall, the event was a huge success. Parents and students alike mentioned that our enthusiastic speakers delivered a highly informative presentation. Numberosity’s representative Yanran Shi summarized,
“The workshop was amazingly detailed, engaging, and helpful. Several students told me afterward that it was really helpful for their essay writing. One parent even messaged me privately to express their gratitude, saying that their child had been stuck for two weeks not knowing what to write, and today’s workshop was truly inspiring for them.”
Thank you to Numberosity Academy for partnering with us, and thank you to our speakers for facilitating such a successful workshop!
Women’s Money Matters Level Up Webinar
Our second event, held on June 25th, was a collaboration with Women’s Money Matters, an organization which builds the financial wellness, confidence, and security of women and girls living on low incomes through instructional workshops and one-to-one coaching. WMM’s mission ideally aligns with Knovva Academy’s goal of increasing access to education for all, including underprivileged populations.
The webinar was led by Amy Hubbard, the Director of Counselor at Knovva Academy, and Robert Miller, a student loan educator and advocate.
To begin, Amy explained the differences between colleges and universities, as well as those between public and private institutions. She then presented a thorough overview of important college application materials—essays, standardized tests, and forms—and offered her tips on how prospective students can select the right college for them. Among the factors which one should consider are finances, academics, career prospects, campus environments, and social aspects. Lastly, Amy finished by reminding the audience to demonstrate purpose, perspective, and potential.
Then, it was time for Robert Miller’s portion of the presentation. Drawing on his experience as a financial advisor for various organizations, Robert offered a thorough coverage of the monetary components of attending college.
A primary focus of Robert’s presentation was the process of obtaining student loans. To avoid debt (which affects over 43 million Americans and amounts to over $1.75 trillion), Robert shared that preparation is key. Ensuring that you are educating yourself on your financial options can help you steer clear of debt traps and avoid regrets.
Robert then explained the difference between subsidized and unsubsidized loans and covered several specific options, such as MEFA loans and Parent PLUS loans. Additionally, Robert walked the attendees through the FAFSA application process and suggested that prospective students research financial aid packages of different schools to reduce out-of-pocket costs.
Finally, Robert highlighted that, as an alternative to taking out a loan, students can attend community college. Not only is this entirely free for Massachusetts residents (thanks to MassEducate and MassReconnect), but it is also a simple way to quickly enter the workforce quickly or to transfer to a state university for a low cost.
We are so grateful to our presenters and partners for hosting these fantastic events! If you’d like to see more, please be sure to follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, where we share footage from the events.
Are you interested in partnering with Knovva Academy? Contact us to get planning today!