Sequoia College & Career Newsletter
Week of February 14-20, 2021
Welcome Students & Families
Scroll through for important information regarding College/Career
How to reach us?
For general questions and inquiries please email us at sequoiaccc@seq.org
Student Appointments:
Ms. Ignaitis, All HCA and Study Skills Students and Last names A-L
Ms. Rocha, All DAA and ELD Students and Last names M-Z
Important Dates and Deadlines
- March 16 - Meeting for Juniors Planning on Applying to a Private or Common Application College – More Information to Come
- See Scholarships & Contests section below for a number of opportunities and deadlines
SAT: Next steps
Juniors that have signed up for the SAT on the Google Form (see next section) you will get an update/confirmation week of February 24
Due to the Generosity of the Sequoia Foundation, there is NO COST for students to take the SAT
SAT Test Information for Juniors - ACTION Required
Form Due: February 12th
At this time, Sequoia is planning on administering the SAT School Day Exam to juniors two separate dates on March 23 and April 13. The final decision will be made according to health and safety guidelines by the county, district and our administration closer to the deadline.
This Spring the exam is optional for juniors ONLY.
STUDENTS:
If you are interested in taking the SAT in March or April please sign up using this form
You must use your school (@seq.org) email
If you want your parents to be cc’d on information we send about this exam, there is a place on the form to add their email address
REMINDERS
Covid19 has changed the college requirements for this year’s seniors but the Class of 2022 is still undecided by most colleges.
Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula - Homework Help
Daily at 3pm
BGCP is offering daily homework help and support for all BGCP students to drop in.
To join via zoom click here: http://tinyurl.com/ForestHWHelp If you cannot join you can submit a homework help ticket by clicking here: http://tinyurl.com/BGCPhwhelp
They are also offering small group Math Support (Geometry, Alg II, Pre Calc, Calc and Statistics) - If you are interested email Lauren Kang at lkang@bgcp.org
VIRTUAL COLLEGE EVENTS
Lewis & Clark, Macalester, Rhodes, Richmond and Trinity College
Feb 20
These colleges are presenting together as the “Metro 5” to talk about the value of being a selective, liberal arts college in a city setting.
College Board’s Big Future Days College Fairs
February 23 at 2 -6pm
Meet with college admissions representatives and current college students, ask questions, and learn more about planning for college. Students can sign up to meet with colleges from the Southeast Region (American University, University of Richmond, LSU, Vanderbilt, and many more will be there). To learn more and register click here.
Future Dates:
March 7 (Northeast region Colleges)
March 11 (Midwest Colleges)
Skyline Community College Automotive SP21 Driving Your Future (DYF) Webinar
Thursday, February 25, 2021, at 3:00pm
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://smccd.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_U9OhurR8RsCT-eP96wdO1A
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
NACAC Virtual College Fairs are back
NACAC’s upcoming series of Virtual College Fairs
These sessions support all students, including seniors who have not yet applied. Students can prepare ahead of time by tagging the Zoom sessions they want to attend.
If your students can’t make it to the first event, there are more opportunities to join this spring:
European Universities Consortium (EUC) North America Virtual Tour
March 2nd and March 3rd
The aim is to introduce parents, students and counselors to different Universities in Europe. Below is the list of participating universities:
For more information click here. Or to register for the event, please visit https://eucnorthamerica.europeanuniversities.eu
VIRTUAL CAREER EVENTS
Upcoming Districtwide Career Speakers in February: Graphic Designer and Engineer
Monday, February 22 @ 3:00PM-- Amanda Phingbodipakkiya, Graphic Designer/Artist
Students, pre-register here!
"Her explorations of feminism, science, and community have appeared in museums and galleries, at protests and rallies, on buildings and highway tunnels, as well as on the mainstage of two TED conferences. Her work has appeared in Forbes, Smithsonian Magazine, and the New York Times."
Thursday, February 25 @ 3:00PM--Aaron Garcia, Engineer
Students, Click here to join the zoom meeting.
5 Careers that Command Salaries of $100,000 per year (and don’t require your students to go to Med School)
From Link Counselor Newsletter - For all your students looking to live comfortably and pursue a career they love, here are five lucrative options. While they all require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and several years of experience, none of them involve med school.
1. Product Marketing Manager
In this role, you’ll spearhead campaigns and lead marketing teams through product launches in the retail and consumer technology spaces, working closely with sales and technical product teams. According to LinkedIn, the median base salary for this position is $134,000
Companies currently hiring include Tarte Cosmetics, Microsoft, Adobe, and Nielsen.
2. Art Director
If you have a knack for visual storytelling, use your expertise as an art director to develop strategies for brand campaigns, fashion shoots, editorial packages and more. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the mean annual wage for this position is $103,510.
Companies currently hiring include Nickelodeon, Highsnobiety, The Dodo, and the Philadelphia Eagles.
3. Site Reliability Engineer
As a site reliability engineer, you’ll be developing software and automated tests to troubleshoot any website issues and enhance user experience. According to LinkedIn, the median base salary for this position is $200,000.
Companies currently hiring include Adobe, Poshmark, Oracle, and Spotify.
4. Human Resources Director
As a human resources director you will provide support, lead employee training programs, recruit new employees and maintain a respectful environment throughout the organization.
According to Glassdoor, the average base salary for this position is $106,842.
Companies currently hiring include Asian Americans for Equality, Old Navy, Cornell University, and Edelman.
5. Game Developer
As a game developer, you’ll hone your strong programming and coding skills to optimize game performance and quality, while continuously implementing new game-changing strategies to increase player engagement.
According to Glassdoor, the average base salary for this position is $101,932.
VIRTUAL Colleges In Your Area - Information Sessions - Why You Should Attend Them
The majority of students when asked what KIND of college they want to go to answer, "a medium to large school with big sports teams." When asked what college they want to attend, they answer - the schools in the area or one of the top 30 most competitive colleges in the nation. Their lists are narrow and similar. When I ask them why they want to go to Stanford, Cal or Brown, their answers are usually the same even though the schools are very different- "because it is a great school."
Beyond the name, a lot of students (families) do not know all the different options colleges have to offer.
Why go to an Information Session? (It is so easy now since they are virtual)
- Learn about general types of colleges and programs: If you are at the beginning stages of your college search, don't just attend sessions for the schools you know about or want to go to because they are popular. Information sessions can help you learn about all the different types of options available to you. For example, core curriculum, freshmen experience, schools with high % of students that double major, smaller schools that partner with larger very prestigious ones, schools with high % of students doing research, etc.
- A way to learn about schools you can't visit in person: A lot of the time the information sessions will be presented by the rep who will be looking at your application. After the information session, go on a virtual tour on their website for a good substitution to travel.
- Demonstrated Interest: (see last week's College Tip in Reminders) For colleges that track demonstrated interest, these information sessions are a must. They know you can apply to a lot of schools easily on the Common Application and some schools wonder why they have never heard from you until you turn in your application. They want to admit students that really want to attend their school not because it is easy to apply; this is a way to show interest.
WUE- Discount Program for Regional Out of State Public Schools
What is WUE? (From WUE website)
WUE (pronounced “woo-wee”) is the Western Undergraduate Exchange, a program of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). Through WUE, students in western states may enroll in more than 150 two-year and four-year college institutions at a reduced tuition level: 150 percent of the institution's regular resident tuition. WICHE member states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Search the WUE Online Database to see which institutions participate and which programs are available at the discounted WUE rate.
For more information, go to the WICHE Website
Things to Remember
WUE colleges individually sets their policies and they are all different
Watch out for details, certain majors are sometimes excluded (nursing and engineering are often excluded)
Some are automatically given to students if admitted and some students must meet a given criteria
A way to get the cost down even lower is called "stacking" - they allow you to get the WUE and other scholarships from their school
FOR EXAMPLE University of Colorado, Colorado Springs located one hour outside of Denver offers the WUE automatically if admitted to all majors except nursing (but they offer an out of state Nursing PEAK scholarship similar to WUE). All can STACK a Presidential Out of State Scholarship (4 areas, Athletics, Leadership, Excellence in Arts and Excellence in Sciences) If a student gets both, the price of college is similar to attending a CSU.
Writing Contest: Have You Been Involved with Race Equity Activities?
Application Due: March 1
The Princeton Prize in Race Relations recognizes and rewards high school students who, through their volunteer activities, have undertaken significant efforts to advance racial equity and understanding in their schools or communities. For More Information
How to Request a Transcript for a Scholarship on Naviance
- Login to Naviance
- Go to the Colleges tab
- Go to Apply to College (in black not Colleges I’m Applying to)
- Go to Manage Transcripts
- Click on the red +
- Add the scholarship information
- Remember it takes up to 5 school days to process a transcript request!
- How To Request a Transcript for a Scholarship Video Clip
Paid Internship for Students Interested in Health Care Careers - KP Launch
Application Due: February 22nd
Through KP LAUNCH, Kaiser Permanente offers unique and dynamic health care internship programs that provide interns with practical job skills and experiences in a supportive environment. Our goal is to bring students coming from underserved communities and backgrounds underrepresented in health care careers into the KP LAUNCH program for exposure to various business and healthcare careers.
We invite you to learn about the KP LAUNCH summer internship program of 2021 and apply by visiting our website. While working, interns gain exposure to various health careers that they may choose to pursue.
KP LAUNCH interns will have the opportunity to:
· Work full-time within various Kaiser Permanente departments for eight weeks
· Learn about a variety of different health careers opportunities
· Meet and learn from health professionals and their internship program peers
· Gain professional and personal development through workshops
High school interns must:
Be age 16 through 19. Priority is given to juniors and senior-level students
Be a high school student or recent high school graduate of the class of 2020*
Be available to work full-time during the six-week summer program
Provide proof of eligibility to legally work in the United States
Have a permanent residence in a Northern California Kaiser Permanente designated service area
Summer 2021 High School Application period is now open through February 22, 2021 at 6pm.
We will contact you by way of email if you have been selected to participate in the interview process.
Mindfulness Training for Sequoia Students!
This year for the first time we are offering a student training through the Mission Be Organization. Students will be trained on mindfulness practices and have the role as mindfulness ambassadors/mentors. They will help promote mindfulness at Sequoia among their peers. It could be as simple as leading a 1 minute mindfulness practice in class, during a club meeting, sports conditioning, etc. Or helping to think of ways to raise awareness regarding mindfulness as a coping skill to deal with stress.They will receive a Certificate of Completion at the end of the training. They can use this as community service and/or on college applications. It is open to 10th-12th grade students.
Below are the dates and times for the training.
- February 24th, 12:45-1:55
- March 3rd, 12:45-1:55
- March 10th, 12:45-1:55
- March 17th, 12:45-1:55
Follow- up sessions
- April 7th, 12:45-1:30
- April 14th, 12:45-1:30
Students can contact Ms. Romero directly jromero@seq.org to sign up.
Girls That Code - Online Activities
They “release activities bi-weekly— some online, some offline, of varying levels of difficulty. Each activity features a woman in tech who pioneered innovative technology.” Click here for more information
EPATT (East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring)
EPATT is recruiting high school students for its College and Career Readiness (CCR) Program. At EPATT it is important to meet all of our students where they are academically and create a targeted plan for them. Our approach consists of academic support, one-on-one tutoring, mentoring, college/career advising and parent/family support. Our goal at EPATT is for all our students, to possess the academic and personal skills to be successful not only in college but in life.
EPATT is currently offering its programming through dynamic and engaging online classes and tutoring. Visit myepatt.org to check-out our offerings.
Interested in Restorative Justice? Learn more about an opportunity to be a part of San Mateo County’s Peer Court
FEBRUARY 21 11am -12pm
Designed for youth from around San Mateo (and San Francisco) to learn about restorative justice, the peer court system, and how to get involved. In Peer Court, respondents participate with a jury of other teenagers to determine restorative plans that replace traditional, punitive measures. Peer Court provides respondents (youth offenders) with an alternative space to take accountability and continue their lives and education.
Interested individuals can sign up at https://forms.gle/VFnCZNUHNjyDzZGR8
Summer Programs: Do you need a transcript?
If you need a transcript sent to a summer program, request in Naviance.
DIRECTIONS:
Colleges Tab “Home”
Scroll down to “manage transcripts”
Click the red button “Plus”
And then click “Other transcripts”
Finally, complete the information needed for the transcript request.
There is a 5 SCHOOL day turn around to send the transcripts, so plan accordingly!
OTHER VIRTUAL EVENTS
Mindfulness - Teen Resource Center
All students are welcomed to join Ms. Judy from the Teen Resource Center (TRC) for 15 minutes of Mindfulness on Wednesdays! Practice breathing exercises and guided visualizations!
When: Every Wednesday
- Time: 12pm until 12:15pm
- Zoom Link: https://seq-org.zoom.us/j/92956681963
How To Videos for students now on our website!
All Newsletters Available Online!
9-11th Newsletter Content (Feb 7 -13)
Announcements: CSF Application Period for Fall 2020 Grades Due Feb 12, SAT School Day Test Sign Up for Juniors Only
College Tip: Updating Naviance Resume
Virtual College Events: Lewis & Clark, Macalester, Rhodes, Richmond and Trinity College, College Board’s Big Future Days College Fair, NACAC College Fairs
Financial Aid- What Does Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Mean?
Career Information - Possible Careers for Social Science Majors
CAREER SPEAKERS: Tues - Video Producer and Thurs - Architect
Student Opportunities-, FREE Youth Leadership Camp!, Los Altos High School's Green Team, virtual conference, Facebook Summer Academy(10th), Carnegie Mellon STEM/Computer Science Free Program, SCU Free Engineering/STEM Program
Scholarship/Opportunities for Juniors - Upwind Summer Scholarship
Contests- The Princeton Prize in Race Relations, San Carlos Youth Advisory Council Art Contest
9-11th Newsletter Content (January 31-Feb 6)
Announcements: CSF Application Period for Fall 2020 Grades Due Feb 12, SAT School Day Test Sign Up for Juniors Only
College Tip: Competitions and Contests Can Enhance your Admission Prospects
Virtual College Events: National Hispanic Institute Virtual College Fair, CSU Eastbay Education Summit 2021
Financial Aid- What does Cost of Attendance Mean?
Career Information - FBI Speaker Presentation
Student Opportunities-, FREE Youth Leadership Camp!, Los Altos High School's Green Team, virtual conference, Facebook Summer Academy, EPATT
Scholarship/Opportunities for Juniors - Upwind Summer Scholarship
Contests- The Princeton Prize in Race Relations, San Carlos Youth Advisory Council Art Contest