White Salmon Valley Education Foundation Offers Free College Essay Workshop

The White Salmon Valley Education Foundation is offering juniors and seniors enrolled at Columbia High School a free college essay writing workshop on October 12. The workshop, led by Katy Jablonski, Writing and Literature instructor at Columbia Gorge Community College, will discuss the power of storytelling, how to structure a personal statement and provide plenty of examples of powerful college essays. After the workshop, local volunteers with expertise in writing will work with students to help them edit and refine their essays. 

“In 2020, we offered a free SAT prep course to students in our region,” stated WSVEF executive director Amanda Lawrence. “We were planning to do so again this year, but then many colleges, including all state colleges and universities in Oregon and Washington, stopped requiring the SAT. This makes the college essay even more important for college admission. However, the cost of hiring a professional writing tutor remains out of bounds for many students in our region. Our goal with offering this free course, and connecting students to local volunteers, is to make college admission more accessible to students from all walks of life.”

The workshop is partially funded by a grant from U.S. Bank. 

To serve as a volunteer writing coach, contact Katy Jablonski at mjablonski@cgcc.edu. All volunteers must participate in a background check. 

To donate to the White Salmon Valley Education Foundation, visit www.wsvef.org or contact WSVEF executive director Amanda Lawrence at: amanda@wsvef.org.

About the White Salmon Valley Education Foundation

The mission of the WSVEF is to enrich the education of PK – 12 students in the White Salmon Valley public schools.   Over the past decade, the WSVEF has contributed over $4.6 million dollars to our schools through grant writing to outside funding sources and awarding grants directly from community-raised funds.