Brittany McGee

Applying to college practically consumed the first semester of my senior year. I had a spreadsheet filled with university names, application deadlines, average SAT scores, tuition, etc. Anything you wanted to know about the 25 colleges on my list, I probably knew it. I was meticulous about deciding which ones to actually apply to. A few I applied to just because they didn’t require a rec letter or were free. In total, I applied to seven universities: Baylor, Fordham, Notre Dame, SMU, Trinity, The University of Texas, and Washington University in Saint Louis. I went to college fairs, talked to recruiters, interviewed with alumni, went to meet and greets. I was well prepared. And, it paid off as I was accepted to all but Notre Dame and wait-listed at Wash-U. 

I was fortunate to have the opportunity of and access to higher education. The unfortunate truth is that not everyone else does.

In my community, many students want to go to university or technical school, but don’t have the means. Sometimes, they aren’t even able to finish high school for a variety of reasons including having to financially help the family. But, the first Youth Development volunteer in Olmos set out to change that when he started the “Olmos Vocational Fair” in 2012. The second volunteer continued the event, making it a tradition.

I first learned about Olmos’ college and vocational fair during training. The volunteer I replaced had been “Volunteer of the Week” the last week of June and she presented on vocational orientation and the fair. I remember her presentation so vividly, and being in awe of what she had accomplished. 500 students attended. 25 universities, technical colleges, and professional organizations were present.

When site assignment day rolled around and my program director named me to Olmos, I immediately knew what that meant for my Peace Corps service. Continuing the college fair. And I was right. One of the first projects people mentioned to me was the college fair. It was an event that all the high schools had participated in, that the other volunteers in the region had visited during.

Early on, I decided that my main goal for the fair was to continue to make it sustainable, which meant resisting any urge I had to organize the entire event myself. As an occasional Type-A person, I had moments where this was difficult. Fortunately, I teamed up with the “Oficina de Juventud” in the municipality, and the team there was very open to working on the fair. I ended up really just making sure we were on track and doing some of the “grunt” work.

Finally, the day of the fair came. I held my breath as the starting time rolled around, wondering if any of the students would show up. I had gone to every 4^th and 5^th grade high school classroom in the town to invite the students to the fair the day before. At first, they slowly trickled in; they gradually added up to around 200 students. 5 of the area high schools were represented. In massive groups the students flocked to each of the 10 university or technical school’s booth to ask questions and get information.

While the event wasn’t perfect, and I learned so much about Peruvian culture that day (pro tip: always sing the national anthem at the beginning of ANY event), I was proud of my counterparts and myself for what we had achieved. We had encouraged 200 students to spend the day thinking about their futures and looking into viable options for post-secondary studies. With events like college fairs and with the increasing number of scholarships, both governmental and private, the students are empowered to continue their studies and better their communities.

For me, the most gratifying part of the experience was to watch as the students walked from booth to booth with excitement and promise in their eyes.

I can’t wait to see how we improve next year’s fair!