A New Beginning
College is hard, paying for it doesn’t have to be.
When I first joined Scholarship Junkies in 2012, I was young, excited, and naive. In fact I’m still all those things, so I guess not much has changed.
But back then I thought we were just a bunch of students having some fun and doing a little good. I was deeply wrong.
Much more than a small coalition of people wanting to do good, we are a force for change, and a wave of action dedicated to creating a nation without financial barriers to higher education.
From user, to workshop facilitator, and now President & Executive Director, a lot has changed. I’ve made mistakes, people have left, others have condemned, and I almost called it quits.
What has kept me going is the profound impact we’ve had on thousands of students across the nation. I’ve seen the students without support. I’ve seen the thankfulness from individuals. I’ve seen myself.
Over the past three years we’ve reviewed almost 2 million words, nearly 4,000 essays, and have helped students win over $5,000,000 in scholarships. And we spent less than $3,000 to do it.
We’ve done something truly amazing with the power of people who dare to make a difference. We’ve grown from a committed bunch of 20, to a machine of 40+, and we’re just getting started.
What we do at Scholarship Junkies is provide access to information, resources, and opportunities to provide individuals with a set of tools. With these tools, individuals can begin their trek towards providing for their higher educational needs. With these tools, youth are equipped to express their experiences in the form of stories. These stories are then used to pave a way towards reaching one’s passions. No two stories are alike, but what we do share in common is that we all dream, and that we all have a passion worth pursuing.
We are much more than a few kids with the ability to provide a few essay corrections. We are an effective organization, comprised of students who have traversed the path of college success, creating widespread change.
From what I’ve seen, youth across the nation are pretty much the same — kids with a thirst to learn, with a hunger to be inspired, and kids who, with the right resources and support, will do great things. I love what I do because I am part of a team that serves as a catalyst, one that pushes towards positive community impact. One that is slowly preparing the next generation to reach for its future. A catalyst that is behind the frontier of our nation’s dream. With our stories, we can tell tales of our experiences, and what makes us push towards tomorrow.
I’ve learned that I may not know where my journey will end, but I do know that I want to provide for as many people as possible. I want to continue on a path that will lead me to helping other pursue their passions.
Cheers,
David Coven
What do we offer?
- Free one-on-one feedback, revision, and editing for scholarship applications and college apps.
- 24/7 Q&A Forum
- Tailored Workshops & Presentations
- Scholarship Bank, scholarships sent to your email every month
- State-by-State Resource Map
- Insider’s guide blog, and writing infographics
- Scholar Fund. Kickstarter for scholarships. (Coming soon)
Interested in helping us shape the nation? Interested in helping students everywhere gain access to college? Send us a message, tell us what you can do, and help us shape tomorrow.
