In a Scholar's Own Words

By Quetzal Mama • January 14, 2016

Meet Ashley Romo

2015/2016 Quetzal Mama Scholar

My name is Ashley Romo, a senior at Fallbrook High School.  I was fortunate to be accepted into the Quetzal Mama Scholars Program in my junior year of high school.  This is a free program designed to prepare and guide first generation, low-income students like me through the complex college admissions process.

The program taught us how to realistically assess our personal academic profiles in order to strategically select and apply to 20 college campuses (and majors) including UC, CSU, and private colleges.  We also learned how to utilize language effectively in order to populate our college applications, how to obtain an exceptional letter of recommendation, how to prepare and strategize the multiple college entrance exams, and how to write effective personal statements.

Although the main goal of the program is to provide students with college admission guidance, it went far beyond that.  It also helped me develop leadership skills, persuasive writing skills, team-building skills, and the importance of giving back to our community.

Growing up, I did not have strong mentors to guide me with leadership tools, strategies, or resources.  However, in the Quetzal Mama Scholars Program, we learned about different leadership styles and strategies, and methods to develop our leadership skills.  For example, throughout the workshop series, we were provided with anecdotal references about leaders who achieved their goals by applying certain strategies and developing certain mental perspectives.  At the opening of each workshop we were given a positive, leadership affirmation, to place us in the right frame of mind and become fully engaged in the lesson.  These are tools I will bring me with to my future undergraduate campus.

As you can see from this statement, we also learned persuasive writing strategies to help us “nail” our personal statements for college, scholarships, internships.  Not only did we learn how to write, we were also taught how to use the principles of persuasive writing into our college interviews.  Having interviewed already with Oberlin College and Dartmouth University, I was able to put to use at least three techniques that proved to be invaluable.  Furthermore, I was selected as a Questbridge Finalist, and I’m now awaiting a decision regarding the Gates Millennium Scholars Scholarship Program.

In order to make a positive impact in San Diego County, we hosted a clothing and school supplies drive for the Monarch School – the only school for homeless students in the United States.  Each Scholar collected goods from our respective cities, and we went as a team to deliver the goods to the Monarch School.  It was an honor to be part of a team that was making a positive difference in our communities.

We learned team-building skills while learning about college!  In our workshops, we were often placed in teams of two. We were almost never partnered with the same partner more than once, so we were able to learn how to work with a new team member each time.  In one workshop, we were grouped with four other scholars.  Our task was to read mock college applications and decide if they should be offered admission to a particular University of California campus.  This activity required critical thinking skills as well as consensus building. After agreeing on a decision, each group presented their response to the entire cohort, and presented compelling reasons to support our decision.  This process helped us learn how to gather group consensus and learn about the type of profile required for admission consideration at each of the 8 UC campuses.

All of the skills and knowledge obtained through the Quetzal Mama Scholars Program helped me feel more confident and prepared for the daunting college application process.  The tips and strategies I learned are ones I can use for the rest of my life.  If it was not for the Quetzal Mama Scholars Program, I would not have acquired the knowledge and developed the skills necessary to become a strong leader, an open minded individual, and a competitive college applicant.

Ashley Romo