Dream Project
Supporting Students in Navigating Their Post-Secondary Plans & Attain Higher Education
2014-15 Ingraham mentee cohort
The Dream Project has been a defining experience for both my personal and professional growth throughout my time at the University of Washington, as I have participated in the program since my first quarter. The Dream Project is a mentoring organization with a two-fold mission: assisting low-income and first generation students in attaining higher education and spreading awareness about social mobility and educational opportunity across campus. Through being a mentee in the program, to mentoring at the high school I attended, to eventually taking on multiple leadership roles, the Dream Project has enabled me to gain a new awareness of my community and the meaning of educational access and ultimately, redefined my long-term career path in the field of education. The Dream Project has meant a lot to me personally, as I was first involved as a mentee when I was a junior and senior at Ingraham High School. Due to the positive impact that my mentor had on my transition to college, I joined as a mentor my first quarter at the UW, and have been involved ever since. The Dream Project has provided me with the unique opportunity to stay connected and support students in the area I grew up in.
Social Justice and Responsibility
The Dream Project works primarily with high schools in the “Road Map Region”, which encompasses South Seattle and South King County. The Dream Project was established, as it was apparent that there were prevalent racial and regional opportunity gaps between student achievement levels. In addition to providing support to students, the second part of Dream Project’s mission in spreading awareness about local impacts of educational inequity is integral to the social-justice focus of Dream Project’s work. It is evident that South King County – a diverse, yet highly segregated area – is a microcosm of the larger ongoing struggle for human rights and equitable educational access.
Mentoring and Self-Understanding
The core of the Dream Project’s work is the relationships that are fostered between mentors (undergraduate students) and mentees (high school juniors and seniors). As a graduate of Ingraham High School and also having recently navigated the college admissions process, I am able to use my skills and new knowledge through my experiences at the UW to connect with and mentor students at Ingraham on a weekly basis. Through mentoring, I’ve also gained a new self-understanding, as I reflect on my educational background and experiences through my new, critical lens. Though working with students, I came to realize how my bias resulted in narrow vision of educational access. While I was fortunate to be surrounded by a college-going culture by my peers in the International Baccalaureate program and received external support that allowed me to overcome hardships, I realized that not all students were afforded with those same supports for various uncontrollable factors.
Collaboration & Facilitation
Through the various leadership positions I’ve held in the Dream Project, I have had the opportunity constantly work with other undergraduate students in a variety of contexts. For example, this past year as a High School Lead Manager, I work with my co-manager on a weekly basis to plan and facilitate classes and professional development sessions. In addition, I also collaborate with the other leadership portfolios in weekly Steering meetings to discuss programmatic issues and direction.
Spring Quarter 2015: Ingraham mentors
Winter Quarter 2015: Ingraham mentors
Dream Project lecture
Positive Attitude
As a mentor and leader in the Dream Project, it's been importment for me to uphold a positive attitude throughout my different positions because at times, there are different levels of stress that can arise from the big time committment. It's always vital to keep grounded in why one is in the Dream Project and the broader context of this work (which is sa philsophy and attitude that I also apply to other areas of my life as well).
2016 High School Lead Banquet
Reflection
Through increasing my awareness of the educational inequities in my close and broader community, the Dream Project has been a significant factor in fueling my aspiration to pursue a career in the field of education. The insights that I have gained from this experience has translated into my everyday mindset and other areas in my life such as other service-learning engagements, my work with Teach for America, and my involvement with the UW Pipeline Project. In the future, I am confident that I will be able to build on the many leadership competencies that I have gained through my involvement in the Dream Project, as they are all applicable to the skills I will need when teaching and in the field of education. Overall, the Dream Project has provided me with a renewed sense of commitment and better understanding of the urgency to continue fighting for education in the ongoing struggle for justice.