Helping Under-Resourced Students Create Their Own Journey to Success

Sherry Smith is the Executive Director of Berkeley Community Scholars, where she creates pathways for deserving, but under-resourced, students. With thirty-five years spent in education, Sherry focuses on college selection, college admission, financial aid, and matriculation, especially in underserved, under-resourced, and first-generation college students.

Today, she joins the show to talk about the inspirational work she is doing at Berkeley Community Scholars, the value of a college degree, and the inequality of college access and how she and her team are trying to combat it.

📺 Watch on YouTube

https://youtu.be/npjloxQjFi8

Key Takeaways

00:49 – Jonathan introduces today’s guest, Sherry Smith, who joins the show to talk about her first recollections of money and her career in education before joining Berkeley Community Scholars

13:46 – Helping under-resourced kids achieve a college degree

20:16 – Statistics on inequality of college access

28:52 – Advisors and mentors

33:45 – The necessity of resourcefulness

46:55 – One piece of advice for high school students preparing to enter college and one thing to completely ignore

51:46 – How to support Berkeley Community Scholars

53:58 – The last thing Sherry changed her mind about

54:25 – Jonathan thanks Sherry for joining the show and lets listeners know where to connect with her

Tweetable Quotes

“From that, I decided that, if I wanted to do education – which I really wanted to do – then I needed to become even more educated in ways that I could actually be more impactful for more people than just the students that I was seeing.” (08:33) (Sherry)

“We want everyone to be able to go and get a college degree. And we are unapologetic that we think a college degree allows a student to have a fighting chance to have success in their life. And they get to decide what that success is.” (14:19) (Sherry)

“When you said, ‘What are you trying to solve?’ There are so many ‘isms’ in our country. Racial equity is a huge one. Economic insecurity is another one. Gender is another. We’re trying to make sure that our students feel full no matter who they are, where they come from, or what their circumstances are.” (16:06) (Sherry)

“Yes, you have to be resourceful, otherwise you die. Yes, you have to be creative because otherwise you die. You figure it out and you have to figure out, at some point, how you emotionally deal with that.” (34:13) (Sherry)

“It’s having those kind of conversations with our scholars, which is really both fun and enlightening, but also allows all of us to step back and say, ‘We’re really that piece of sand, but how do we make the difference while we’re here for ourselves, and then build the community that is really rich, not so much in things, but in each other?’” (38:07) (Sherry)

“Try something new. Go out there and meet other people on your floor. Join that club. Go do something that you have no idea what that is just to get your mind and your juices flowing and you’ll realize, ‘Oh wow! I didn’t know that even existed.’” (47:33) (Sherry)

“Take the time to find what you really love because if you love something, it doesn’t become so much about work. It becomes, ‘How do I fit into community? How do I make my community and life better?’ So, find that because you’ll willing to work hard at that.” (48:17) (Sherry)