UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON DREAM PROJECT

What is the Dream Project?

The Dream Project is a student-initiated high school outreach program that operates as a University of Washington course, partnering UW students with first-generation and low-income high school students to help them achieve the dream of attending college. The program's dual-focus approach strives not only to help these high school students, but also to teach UW students about important social issues through a unique, hands-on experience. Learn more about the Dream Project

Monday, January 18th, 2010

MLK Day of Service

On Martin Luther King Day, instead of taking a day off from school Dream Project made it a day on. Dream Team mentors and students gave back to the community by pulling out invasive plants and planting native plants in their place at Beacon Hill's Cheasty Greenspace. It was a good way for some of our students to receive community service hours (a high school graduation requirement for some of the schools we serve), get to know each other, make new friends, and most importantly give back to our community. With over 60 volunteers, we accomplished what would have taken EarthCorps 15 days to finish in one day. It was a great success as we recognized that MLK day was a way for all of us to come together and give back.

Saturday, December 12th, 2009

Dream Project Fall Social

On Saturday, December 12th, the UW Dream Project hosted it's inaugural social at the University of Washington to celebrate our student's progress and success on the college admissions process. Dream Team members and Dream Scholars challenged one another at bowling, pool, ping pong, arcade games, and even battled it out on game consoles. After 2 hours, the social moved down to the Ethnic Cultural Center where we made gingerbread houses and played board games. It was a great success with a turnout of 70 Dream Scholars and 40 Dream Team members. Make sure to check out the pictures in our photo gallery!

Saturday, Sunday, November 14-15, 2009

Dream Project Admissions Workshop Weekend

During the weekend of Nov. 14th and 15th, over 300 students attended Dream Project's Admissions Workshop Weekend. All nine Dream Project schools, Hawksquad, MESA, and interested students from outside of the Dream Project attended. Transportation from the schools to the event was available in the form of yellow school buses. Each day kicked off with breakfast, then an inspirational and informative talk by Grant Twitchell, a University of Washington Admissions Counselor. Twitchell helped the students understand the admissions process for several different schools around the state so that they were prepared to fill out the application for the schools that they were interested in. Students then moved to Mary Gates Hall where they met with their Dream Team Mentors as well as Graduate Writing Tutors who helped them with their college applications in any way they could. Lunch was provided, and there were snacks such as Jamba Juice available throughout the weekend. All in all, the event was a success! Many of the students came with ideas and left with entire applications ready to be turned in. The Dream Project would like to send out a big "Thank you!" to the students, volunteers, and Dream Team members for making Admissions Workshop Weekend so wonderful.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, October 21-23, 2009

College Board Forum 2009

From October 21-23, 2009, UW Dream Project student leaders attended the College Board Forum 2009 in New York City, NY. This year's theme for the conference was Education and the American Future. Dream Project student leaders presented on the Dream Project's model for college access and college degree completion as part of its national expansion efforts and connected with representatives from colleges across the country. For more information on the College Board Forum, please visit this page.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Dream Project Scholarship Workshop

On Saturday, October 17th, over 120 high school students attended the Dream Project's largest Scholarship Workshop Weekend ever at the UW-Seattle campus to learn about and start their own scholarship application process. Students learned how to find, choose, and apply competitively for scholarships during a Scholarship Junkies presentation by Sam Lim. After a fun-filled pizza lunch, they worked with Dream Team members on signing up for scholarship websites, finding scholarships for which they are eligible, brainstorming essay ideas, and applying for scholarships. At the end of the day, everyone celebrated their hard work and success with an ice cream social. If you missed this event or want more help with your scholarship or college applications, make sure to attend one or both days of Admissions Workshop Weekend on November 14th and 15th.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, September 22-24, 2009

Colorado State University Diversity Conference 2009

From September 22-24, 2009, UW Dream Project student leaders participated in the Colorado State University Diversity Conference 2009 in Fort Collins, CO, and presented on the Dream Project's innovative two-track model for outreach, service learning, and college student retention. Sponsored by Colorado State University's Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, the Dream Project's workshop represents the latest in its efforts to expand the Dream Project model to other universities and colleges across the country. Visit Colorado State University's Diversity Conference website for more information.

September 16th, 2009

NCAN Conference, San Francisco 2009

On September 16th, members of the Dream Project attended the National College Access Network (NCAN) Conference in San Francisco, California. While there, they had the privilege of networking with other outreach programs from around the country and participated in a panel with other organizations that are also student-run or run by recent college graduates. The panel was moderated by Shari Ranis of the Bill and Milenda Gates Foundation and in attendance was Strive For College, the National College Advising Corps and Michigan Campus Compact. The panel shared effective practices and discussed plans for expansion as well as the importance of research and data collection as a means of perfecting their models.

Saturday, August 1st, 2009

Summer Picnic

On Saturday, August 1st, 20 Dream Project mentors and 40 high school students took a break from the heat to meet at Alki Beach for a few hours to share food and play games. Social events like the picnic during the summer are essential to maintaining the mentor-mentee relationship developed in spring so that they can be called upon in the fall while writing personal statements.

Past News about the Dream Project...