Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Corey Sheffield.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Dr. Corey. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
“When your talent and the world’s needs cross, there lies your vocation” – Aristotle
I’ve been in education for over 15 years. I began my educational journey as a Science teacher, but for me, something was still missing. I was good at what I did, but I wasn’t passionate about it. After being in the classroom for several years, I was fortunate enough to transition to a role that introduced me to the world of college access. I know for a fact that education has the power to change lives and I have always wanted the best for any students that I have worked with. Being able to expose students that look like me to their hopes, dreams, and possibilities gives me a purpose and a calling in this world, especially when those students don’t necessarily have the support systems at home to support those dreams. I knew in college that I wanted to work with and for students but I wasn’t sure in what capacity. Praise God I found it!
While serving as Director of College Counseling for an Atlanta charter school, I wanted to see how I could merge two of my biggest passions, college access and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). I grew up in a time where HBCUs were showcased in television and film. Like seriously, I watched School Daze and A Different World like nothing else mattered and I knew that I wanted to be in a college environment where my culture, thoughts, and ideas would be appreciated. So for me, an HBCU was not a choice but my only choice. I am a product of two HBCUs, Voorhees College and Clark Atlanta University. In addition to a loving and supportive family, I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today without the education, guidance, and direction that I received from these two institutions. As a college access professional, it is my job to educate students on all their options and the conversation of HBCUs is evident within the schools in Atlanta. Students have been exposed to many HBCU’s either from their parents, teachers, and/or friends and siblings. The unfortunate thing is that many families have not prepared for the cost of college which is a huge barrier for college completion.
In 2015, I was browsing social media and saw a post from Andrew Ragland about the 5 Strong Scholarship Foundation. I initially inquired to look into more opportunities for my students but the more we spoke, the more I realized that this is something I would love to be a part of. It was then that I became one of the Associate Directors for the 5 Strong Scholarship Foundation. Since then, I have been part of a team that works extremely hard to recruit, select, and mentor students that want to have an opportunity at an HBCU education without having to worry about financing it. Atlanta truly has some remarkable students inside the classroom and out, and I get an opportunity to meet some of these students every single year as they come in eager and ready to “shoot their shot” to earn one of the full tuition scholarships to one of our partner HBCUs. I can honestly say that I love what I do. Is the work exhausting? Absolutely! But we do it with love and passion because we understand the end goal, college graduation. Not only do I have an opportunity to help more students become HBCU graduates, but I also play a role in making them better people. For me…that’s everything.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When you’re giving out money to deserving students for a chance to get a college education with less debt, one would think that there would be no hiccups. Unfortunately, that is the furthest from the truth. I think one of the biggest struggles that we have had to deal with as a start up foundation is getting HBCUs and funders to truly believe in us and what we are trying to accomplish. Our mission as an organization is to increase the retention and graduation rates at partnering Historically Black Colleges and Universities by assisting in the enrollment and success of academically promising student leaders until graduation. Currently, less than 10% of HBCU’s have a graduation rate of 50% or higher. While we know there are several reasons that contribute to this, we do know that two of the biggest factors are cost and support. Our program aims to remove these barriers so that students in our program can focus on what’s important, their education. Many HBCU’s haven’t seen a program like this before but the concept isn’t new by any means. We have had conversations with several HBCUs and several funders but unfortunately, not everyone sees the vision immediately so we move on to the next opportunity. Those institutions that have partnered with us literally stepped out on faith after we approached them about the partnership. While this has been a struggle, I think one of the keys to our success thus far is truly believing in what we are about as an organization and being persistent.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with 5 Strong Scholarship Foundation – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
The 5 Strong Scholarship Foundation, Inc. partners with Historically Black Colleges and Universities to provide full-tuition scholarships and ongoing support to promising student leaders from “Matriculation to Graduation.” As mentioned earlier, this is not a new concept. Every year in Atlanta, counselors are invited out to hear about the Posse scholarship and how they can get more of their students to apply to be considered a Posse scholar. I have attended that event for many years along with Andrew Ragland who serves as high school counselor full time. In 2014, Mr. Ragland walked away from one of the Posse meetings asking the question “Why is there nothing like this for HBCU’s?” In that instance, the 5 Strong Scholarship Foundation was born. As a team of experienced educators that have over 30 years of experience helping minority students graduate from high school and get into college, we have teamed up to form a foundation that’s going to be dedicated to building cohorts of 5 college ready scholars and placing them on the campuses of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Our foundation incorporates three signature programs that will help us select and further prepare our 5 Strong Scholars for their college education and for life.
1) The 5 Strong Leaders of the Future (SLOF) Application process was created to thoroughly interview and evaluate each student by using large group and individual interviews, essays, oral responses, and transcript and resume evaluations. To make sure we are selecting the right students, this application process consists of 3 rounds that all have different focus areas.
2) The 5 Strong College Prep Sessions (CPS) was specifically developed to aid in the growth of our scholars by having weekly meetings that will include: team-building exercises, leadership skills workshops, understanding financial aid workshops, networking – on and off campus, academic success/study skills workshops, time management workshops, and goal setting workshops.
3) The 5 Strong Keys In Persistence (KIP) was developed to track students during their four years on campus, assist with finding scholars summer jobs and internships, review and discuss report cards and study skills, and assist scholars with post-undergraduate plans.
We specialize in giving all students an opportunity at an education. So many times scholarships go to those students that have the high GPA’s and high test scores…leaving other students somewhat lost in the wind. We as an organization recognize that there are still some remarkable students that may not have performed their best academically but still have something special to offer. This is why we take students through a three round interview process. We want to know and learn about the whole student and not just the academic. While we do have some scholars in our program that graduated with a 3.9 GPA, we have selected some that graduated with a 2.8 GPA. Let’s be real…no where in the country can you get a full-tuition scholarship with a 2.8 GPA. This alone sets us apart from others. We take these students in like our own children, build relationships with them, educate them, and mentor them through 4 years of college. We produce college graduates!
The thing that we are most proud of as a company is that we know in our hearts that we are making a true impact in these students lives and in the community. If it hadn’t been for our foundation, there are some students that never would have made it to college because they didnt have the financial means to cover the costs. This is truly a game changer for so many families. Currently, there are over 80 students that have received the 5 Strong Scholarship and are now students at our partner HBCU’s. In May of 2020, our first cohort of 5 Strong Scholars will walk across the stage and receive their degrees. Knowing that we had a hand in not only producing HBCU graduates but great people, makes the long nights and days worth it.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are constantly thinking of new and innovative ideas that can help us recruit and mold future 5 Strong Scholars. We will continue to reach out to other HBCU’s so that we can give more opportunities to students. The more HBCU’s that come on board as partners, the more students we can select. We have also toyed around with the idea of branching out to other cities, but right now it’s just an idea. Right now, we have started to recruit for our 5th cohort of scholars. So for the next few months, we will be busy with college fairs and visiting high schools in the Atlanta area to get the word out about our foundation. There is still work to do because there are some that still don’t know about us and we want to change that.
Pricing:
- 5 Strong is FREE!! There is no application fee to apply. If you meet the scholarship criteria all you have to do is submit the application.
Contact Info:
- Website: 5strongscholars.org
- Email: coreysheffield@5strongscholars.org
- Instagram: 5_strong_scholars
- Twitter: @5strongscholars
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