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MLK College Readiness and Success Summit will help students with college admissions and financial aid process

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Dr. Derek Johnson speaks at a previous Martin Luther King, Jr. College Readiness and Success Summit. (Photo supplied.

The college admission and financial aid process can be daunting and often confusing for both students and parents alike. With that in mind, College Station will host its annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. College Readiness and Success Summit which is designed to help students understand the college admissions, college search and financial aid process.

“Even parents who have their doctorate degrees, they’re still confused about the whole college process. For us to be able to be a resource to anyone that could benefit from this information is huge … especially for students and families where this might be very well new to them,” Dr. Derek Johnson, founder of The College Station, tells Madison365. “So everything that we do, we try to make sure that we meet students or parents really where they are and give them a safe space to ask whatever questions they might have and hopefully be able to give them some tools and resources so that as they go about this journey.”

This year’s annual MLK College Readiness and Success Summit will be held at Madison College’s Goodman South Campus on Saturday, Jan. 14, 1030 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Opening sessions for the event will include “The College Blueprint: Understanding the Basics” presented by Johnson and “Paying for College: Understanding the Financial Aid Process” presented by Katie Sprunger, assistant director of financial aid at Edgewood College. 

The MLK College Readiness and Success Summit will have different concurrent breakout sessions for students and parents to participate in.  

“Those breakout sessions will focus on topics like steps for planning for college, college success strategies, health and wellness in college, student leadership and involvement and developing grit and resilience to help you get through college,” Johnson says. ” Those breakout sessions will come after two opening sessions, one focusing on the college admissions and college search process and then the second opening session, focusing on financial aid and how to complete the free application for federal student aid.”

Dr. Lalo Mancilla talks to students at a previous Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. College Readiness and Success Summit

Presenters for the breakout sessions will include Jamaal Eubanks, senior academic advisor and senior disability resource specialist for Madison College and founder of Eubanks Solutions, LLC.; Ezi Adesi, campus director and admissions advisor for Lakeland University; Rachel Jones, assistant dean for student services at UW-Madison College of Engineering; and Langston Evans, director of college & career readiness of the Madison Metropolitan School District.

The keynote speaker for this year’s event will be Prenicia Clifton, a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has nearly two decades of precollege and youth programming experience. She currently serves as the director of youth protection and compliance for the University of Wisconsin-System.

Prenicia Clifton

“At the event, students will have the opportunity to win some college supplies and college materials, as well,” Johnson says. “New this year, we’ll have a silent pre-college, college and scholarship fair. By silent, we mean that we have no representatives at all but we’ll have resources available to parents and students as it relates to pre-college opportunities.

“So if students are a little bit earlier in their high school career or even in middle school, they can learn a little bit more about the different pre-college programs that might be available to them,” Johnson adds. “And then for the college side, we’ll have a few different colleges and universities with information to distribute to parents and students. And then also we’ll have information on some of the community-based scholarship opportunities that will be available to students within the Madison/Dane County area.”

The College Station, a non-profit organization founded by Johnson, provides underserved students and families with the knowledge and access to information and resources needed to navigate the college search, admissions, and financial aid process. They are partnering to host this annual event with Madison College, Edgewood College, the Urban League of Greater Madison and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.

Johnson knows firsthand what it’s like to be needing expertise in college readiness.

“As a first-generation, low-income, student of color myself and not really knowing how to navigate the college process and not really having too many people to be able to go to for guidance, this was my reality,” Johnson says. “This is one reason why I really get excited about continuing to do this work year after year, and how beneficial it is to so many students and their families regardless of where they come from with a background.

“I enjoy being able to help students and families and to make the process easier for them,” he adds. “This event is a great opportunity to get some information that they can use now and that might be beneficial to them down the road.”