Wednesday Chats
A virtual college application workshop series for CVUSD students hosted by ECV for Change and guest trainer Melina Duarte
What is Wednesday Chats?
Wednesday Chats was a 4-part virtual college application workshop series for high school students in the Coachella Valley. ECV for Change Co-Mentorship Directors, Patricia Leal-Gutierrez and Eloisa Lopez, along with guest trainer (and ECV for Change Board Member) Melina Duarte, shared their professional insight and offered advice on how to navigate the college application process, prepare materials, and think through next steps.
Meetings were held via Zoom on Wednesdays of November 2021. Each workshop focused on a different component of the college application process: general overview, resume, and personal statement. Students were presented with guest speaker testimonials (experiences of college graduates from the Coachella Valley), as well as offered one-on-one assistance from ECV for Change mentors on crafting their application materials during break-out sessions.
Scroll down to learn more about each session and to watch the 4 recorded sessions!
Session 1: College Application Overview
Co-Mentorship Director, Pati Leal-Gutierrez, and guest trainer, Melina Duarte, provide a general overview of the components of a typical college application and discuss the differences between the three college application systems: UC’s, CSU’s, and private colleges. Guest speakers, Coachella Valley college graduates, share their personal experiences in navigating the application process.
Session 2: Resume Builder Overview
Guest speaker and ECV for Change Tor, Selene Castillo, outlines the basic components of a resume and presents best practices on highlighting professional strengths in a resume.
Session 3: Personal Statement Overview #1
Guest trainer Melina Duarte discusses what makes a compelling personal statement for college applications and how to stand out from the crowd.
Session 4: Personal Statement Overview #2
No recording available as prospective college applicants were instead separated into individual breakout sessions to receive one-on-one assistance with their personal statements.