This past June, our Inglewood “I Have A Dream” Foundation – Los Angeles Dreamers, who will be rising 11th and 12th graders this coming school year, participated in a three-week College Readiness Summer Program at Los Angeles Southwest College, where they had the opportunity to participate in workshops, lectures, discussions, and Q&A panels that prepared them for college.

The program consisted of Movie Mondays, where student Dreamers watched selected films that correspond to college life, and a “Story2 curriculum,” where they learned about storytelling, self-advocacy, and how to use both to organize personal essays.

During the rest of the week, Dreamers participated in a student panel where they learned about the admission process, the importance of college applications, and about the documents that are often required for college admission, as well as how to gain access to those documents. They also learned about acquiring letters of recommendation and professional references. Ms. Carpenter from Southwest College led a guest speaker discussion on the application process, and our Dreamers received a private campus tour of the college.

The Dreamers also learned key financial aid skills, including how to navigate the FAFSA financial aid website and how to distinguish between grants and loans. They also explored different scholarship opportunities for higher education. Additionally, they participated in a discussion on housing and transportation for college life (dorm life vs. commuting), cost of housing associated with both options, out-of-state vs in-state costs, and the importance of managing time and effectively navigating college schedules.

Finally, the Dreamers created their own admission folder and worked on a college of interest project where they researched their top schools, explored the different major and career options they offer, and presented their findings to the other Dreamers.

After participating in the program, the Dreamers are now knowledgeable about every aspect of the college admissions process, and they are ready to apply to colleges and continue pursuing their career goals and dreams. We look forward to bringing you more updates on these Dreamers as they continue their transition from high school to college.

Work is Success Internship Program (WISIP)

In addition to college preparation, 11 Dreamers were selected to participate in this year’s internship program. The Dreamers earned their internships through our WISIP program, which you can learn more about here.

Dream Speaker Lisa Nwoye STEM Presentation During IHADLA Inglewood Summer Program

The Dreamers also enjoyed a presentation from a Dream Speaker, Marketing Expert Lisa Nwoye.

Lisa gave the Inglewood Dreamers insight into the world of digital marketing, including information on possible careers within the field. Many thanks to Ms. Nwoye for introducing our Dreamers to this very interesting career field. You can read Lisa’s bio below.

Lisa Nwoye is a Digital Marketing & Entertainment Business professional who specializes in Digital Advertising, Marketing/Branding Strategy and Business Development. She is also the founder of the non-profit Project Digital Africa Inc. Lisa grew up in the heart of Silicon Valley and has a natural passion for Technology. Upon her relocation to Los Angeles, she was able to combine her Tech interest with her interest in the Entertainment Business. Lisa has worked with a variety of Entertainment companies along with multiple talent acts including actors, recording artist, and professional athletes. She has spent time working at some of the world’s largest Entertainment and Media companies, including; Viacom, Warner Music Group, Omnicom Media Group, GroupM. Lisa continues to stay up to date with the latest Entertainment and Tech trends and is also IAB Certified in Digital Media Sales. Today, Lisa continues to take on her own entertainment clients developing business strategies and creating brand awareness.

Lisa’s Entertainment Business career began while she was in college. She joined a party promotions company working as a Marketing Rep selling pre-sale tickets to college students for parties with celebrity guest performers. Upon earning her B.S. degree in Business Marketing from San Jose State University, Lisa decided to move to LA to pursue the Entertainment business while she completed her Masters degree in Business. She worked as a Marketing Representative at Legacy Entertainment along with assisting Multi-Platinum Producer/Songwriter/Recording Artist B.Howard. She later took on a role at a boutique PR firm handling social media campaigns. She also worked with professional boxer Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin. In addition to this, Lisa took on small campaigns with multiple talent acts and worked at a numerous amount of Hollywood celebrity events. Lisa currently has a business partnership with Producer/Songwriter Super Dave; manager of Curry Money Entertainment’s recording artist Anjali World.
Lisa is known for creating custom strategies for branded executions and managing the entire process of the campaign from the beginning to the end. When it comes to creating Branded Integration programs between brands and talent Lisa is your go to person. She is committed and dedicated to the success of her clients and their business development goals.  

If you’d like to help us continue to provide college prep programming to our Dreamers, please click below: