I received a phone call tonight from Katy Bordonaro, the director of Alumni Affairs @ Prep for Prep 9. She was just checking in to see how I’m doing, and wanted to catch up and find out what I’ve been working on.
Prep for Prep 9 is a non-profit educational organization that is privately financed by donors who are interested in giving gifted inner city youth opportunities to receive an otherwise unattainable first class private education. All of the education they receive through Prep for Prep 9 is absolutely free, with no tuition fees. After graduating from Prep for Prep 9, students go on to receive academic scholarships to the top private schools in America.
Through Prep for Prep 9, I was offered unprecedented opportunities to meet all kinds of inspirational people. For example, during my high school French class, I sat next to Ivanka Trump, the daughter of real estate, media mogul, Donald Trump. And olympic gold medalist, Angela Ruggiero, was in my graduating class. I shared cafeteria tables with royalty of foreign countries that I didn’t even know existed. Sometimes, I like to follow up with other old classmates on Facebook, just to check in, and I am always in awe of the things they do.
To be frank, I am very, very thankful to have something like Prep for Prep 9 in my life.
During the phone call, Katy and I talked to about my upcoming photography projects and entrepreneurial activities. We also discussed a bit about how Facebook, Twitter and other online social networks could function as useful outreach resources to connect with both potential new students and donors. Additionally, we talked about ways to aggregate the vast Prep for Prep 9 alumni network. I’ve met so many gifted & talented people through the Prep for Prep 9 program, and I personally would love to hear about the lives of all the other alumni. Blogs and Tweets would be a great, expense free, way to receive alumni updates, as opposed to resource intensive printed news letters. If I had more free time, I’d love to spearhead the initiative to develop Prep for Prep 9 online new media presence. Too bad I don’t right now. Hopefully, I can help out through phone calls, such as this one, in the meantime.
ALUMNI AFFAIRS:
http://www.PrepForPrep.org/alumni.aspx?id=236
(I actually shot the above photo for Harlem Academy, not Prep for Prep 9. And the age range is all off. But I just like the photo.)
HERE’S THE BASIC GIST OF MY PREP FOR PREP 9 EXPERIENCE…
When I was 11 years old, I was called into the principle’s office of my public school, along with 2 other students. He said that he selected us as the 3 most gifted students in our school, and that it would be a great for us to apply for the Prep for Prep 9 program.
The 3 of us agreed to apply. We later stepped into an auditorium filled with over 6,000 students, each hand selected from nearly every public junior high school in Tri-State area, plus the Long Island. Each student underwent a series of standardized tests (math, english, etc.) And they narrowed the 6,000 down to 500 students. The 500 students went in for a 2nd round of more challenging standardized tests, to narrow the applicant pool down to roughly 100 students. These remaining students then under went an arduous series of various IQ tests, interviews, teacher recommendations and psychological profiling of both family and student, to determine a starting class of 50 to 60 students.
This final group of students then received a 14 month in length, intensive preparatory education consisting of advanced courses in creative writing, mathematics, literature, science, politics, language, etc. in addition to numerous character building weekend retreats designed to help the young students develop strong leadership and ethical capacities.
Of the 50 or 60 students, roughly 40 graduate from the program, and go on to receive scholarships to America’s best private schools. That is exactly how I managed to get into Choate Rosemary Hall, a top 3 private high school, on a full academic scholarship of roughly $225,000 (give or take).
Following high school, I attended Cornell University, also on full academic scholarship. During both my high school and college years, Prep for Prep 9 provided me with guidance counselors, employment resources, character building seminars and networking opportunities. And now, post college, they check in just to see how I’m doing, and if there is anything they can do to help me, or if there’s anything I can do to give back to Prep for Prep 9, hence the phone I received tonight.
I hear things have changed a bit these days, and that they increased the starting class to 75 students, but I doubt its any less competitive. And in case you are wondering, there are actually 2 distinct programs (under the same umbrella): Prep for Prep and Prep for Prep 9. The difference is that Prep for Prep students go on to attend private day schools, while Prep for Prep 9 students go on to attend the top 9 private boarding schools. You can read more about the application process on their website.
PREP FOR PREP 9 APPLICATION PROCESS:
http://www.PrepForPrep.org/program_details.aspx?id=187
THE TAKEAWAY:
Prep for Prep 9 was integral to my development. It has made an incredible, trajectory altering, impact on my life. It ramped up the challenge level of my world, steeply and early on, when I was only a young child. At the same time it gave me the tools to surmount these new obstacles, and provided me with a nurturing environment & community to promote my personal growth. And in doing so, Prep for Prep 9 opened up a universe of boundless potential, allowing me to pursue all my life goals, unflinchingly.
CONTRIBUTE TO PREP FOR PREP 9:
The annual operational cost of Prep for Prep 9 is somewhere in the ball park of 10 million dollars. Since it is a tuition free, non-profit, educational program, Prep for Prep 9 relies entirely on donors to sustain itself.
If there were any potential donors who have read my blog post, and are interested in contributing to the leadership development and the professional advancement opportunities of promising young people, please follow the link below:
DONATE TO PREP FOR PREP 9:
http://PrepForPrep.org/donate.aspx?ekmensel=c580fa7b_21_34_btnlink
I hope to one day be able to give back to Prep for Prep 9, financially and otherwise. Most notably, Prep for Prep 9 did not teach nor encourage “the arts” to its students because its not typically a “financially stable” professional path, but that is clearly not true. And I would do my best to be a proof of concept. I firmly believe that creativity should be encouraged across all disciplines, business, science, politics, etc. And one of the best ways to develop creativity is to have students actively engage in making art. In terms of practicality, it is possible to monetize artistic talent and turn a profit. You just gotta hustle, is all. Recently though, I must admit that Prep for Prep 9 has been hosting events specifically geared towards alumni who are creatives. The last one was held in the MoMA, NYC and it was pretty incredible to see all the alumni who grew up to be writers, designers & artists. Its nice to know that I’m not alone.
Hey Katy! Thanks for getting in touch. Really, really great to hear from you! Call me anytime! And I’m glad you started your Twitter account, I will see you online!
