VISITATION = INSPIRATION

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I’m a senior at Bronxville High School, an affluent village in Westchester, NY. 

About 5 years ago I started to explore colleges. Each time, despite my gratitude for the exposure, I thought very little about the ease with which I boarded planes, stayed at hotels, accessed classes. Indeed, this summer I took classes at Columbia and studied with an elite private company to prepare for the SAT. To me, this is all too routine; it’s a natural part of life.

One might say, I could have easily taken it for GRANTED.

Early this summer I overheard about a student who had been offered a full scholarship to USC. However, she could not afford to get to USC with her caregiver (her uncle). Indeed, she had never visited the school prior to her acceptance. It came to me to ask my dad if his company could donate a hotel room in Los Angeles, and, maybe a friend of ours who works for a major US airline could donate plane tickets. In a few days, through the help of our friends, plane tickets and hotel rooms were secured and this talented young woman and her uncle would soon be off for USC.

After this feel-good moment, I thought nothing more of the episode, but a seed had been planted in my mind.

In August of 2022, I attended a talk given to some summer session students at the Roger Lehecka Double Discovery Center at Columbia (DDC). DDC primarily offers first-generation, low-income students access to supplemental course work, counseling and application guidance. 

As I sat there among these awesome and hardworking students it occurred to me how aside from the many things I could take for GRANTED, these kids and I were much the same; and, we are all ultimately members of one another.

I knew I wanted to do something, but what? In the dark outside Lerner Hall it hit me – gather up for others the small things which I could take for GRANTED, and, seek to gather support from others. Maybe the little I could do would mean a great deal for others.

These kids at DDC and no doubt many many others, even if they worked hard in high school, needed access not just to education, but to the ways to get informed about applying to college and literally get there to visit.

And, because we all need to be our own advocates, the students seeking assistance from GrantedUSA.org must make their case (like on GoFundMe.org) and show their desire.

Like other great organizations such as DonorsChoose.org, our donors will be able to match donations from companies so that the kids’s wishes are GRANTED.

Hopefully, together, we can inspire change through travel, visitation and ease of application. Come join us as we raise awareness and money!