School has been moved online…

Standardized exams have been postponed…

Internship possibilities have been complicated…

But I’m suppose to be using this summer to build my resume for college applications!

What am I suppose to do now!?

Here’s an idea! Why don’t we ask the experts?

Impact Hub Houston has teamed up with Creative Vida to bring college admissions representatives from public, private and out of state universities straight to your phone or computer! We’re hosting a LIVE online Q&A for high school students in the greater Houston area to get all their questions answered regarding the impact of COVID-19 on college admissions.

Here are some of the questions our experts will answer during this virtual session:

• How does this new education format and transition impact the evaluation of college applicants?
• How do we deal with the setback in standardized testing?
• How do we make up for activities lost such as summer internships?
• Have application deadlines for Fall 2021 students changed?
• How can we best prepare during this time?

And, you will also be able to submit questions before and during the event!

In our first session, we will be featuring representatives from Rice University, The University of Texas at Austin, and Trinity University!

Schedule:

6-6:10PM Introductions

6:10-6:30PM Panel Discussion

6:30-6:50PM Virtual Breakout Sessions

• Select which of the 3 schools you want to speak to in more detail, then, we will separate you into virtual break out rooms in zoom so you can ask them even more questions!

6:50-7PM Recap of Key Takeaways + Industry Advice

About our Guest Speakers:

Brandon Mack, Associate Director of Admission at Rice University & Coordinator of Transfer Admission

Brandon Mack has worked in the field of college admissions for the past 11 years. He has coordinated the transfer admission process. He is the liaison to the School of Architecture. He develops domestic and international recruitment strategies for the University. He is also an activist and educator currently working on his Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Houston.

Veronica Peña, Assistant Director of Admissions at The University of Texas at Austin

Veronica Peña is a first generation college graduate and attended Texas State University – San Marcos. She has been working in higher education for over 8 years with a specialization within recruitment and event coordinating. She currently serves as the Director of the Houston Admissions Center for The University of Texas at Austin. During her time at UT Austin she has served in many roles such as an Admissions Counselor, Program Coordinator, and the Director of the Dallas Admissions Center. She is also the current Membership Coordinator for the Houston Area Recruiters Network (HARN) and is a Co-Chair for the Houston National College Fair for the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). She enjoys her career and helping students pursue a higher education. A fun fact about her is she was a professional Hawaiian Dancer for about six years.

Gail Roberson, Director of Admissions–Houston Recruitment at Trinity University

Gail Roberson is finishing her 19th year in college admissions and her 7th year as a Director of Admissions–Houston for Trinity University. Prior to joining Trinity, she served as Director of Admission at Centenary College and as an Associate Director of Admission at Southwestern University. When she isn’t participating in virtual panels, interviewing students or reading applications, you may find her spending time with her kids, gardening, tending chickens (yep–you read that correctly), or playing on her pottery wheel.

High School Student Liaison & Moderator: Sonia Nihalani

Event Facilitator: Michelle Avalos, Co-Founder of Creative Vida and Director of Operations at Impact Hub Houston

Supporting Organizations

Creative Vida is on a mission to educate and empower youth through creative experiences. One of our signature experiences is called 1STGEN, a program that awards first-generation (first-gen) college students with a scholarship consisting of a guided personality assessment, access to a professional development boot camp, brand-new business attire, headshots, business cards, and other professional accessories. 1STGEN combines experience-based learning with next day implementation knowledge to equip first-gen college students with the confidence and tools needed to navigate their higher education journey.

Impact Hub Houston is a locally rooted, globally connected, 501c3 nonprofit organization that inspires, connects and empowers people working to solve social problems in our city and beyond. A member of the Impact Hub global network—the world’s largest community recognized by the United Nations for accelerating entrepreneurial solutions towards measurable and scalable impact—Impact Hub Houston intentionally designs places, platforms and programs to build an inclusive innovation ecosystem and equitably empower diverse changemakers, social entrepreneurs, and impact supporters to create the change they wish to see in the world.