Influencer Strategy

The results I am striving for through my QUICK (Quest to Unite and Impact Collegebound Kids) program initiative include empowering students to build confidence in their capabilities for success in the college application process and beyond through the construction and showcasing of their own ePortfolios. Participating students will be able to compile, review and share their college application materials, build a collaborative community with fellow peers and family members through live meetings and communication boards, and develop desirable skills that will be helpful to the students’ futures, no matter their path.

I come from a background teaching at a Title I high school and currently work with emergent bilingual students in Texas. There is a significant lack of college eligible students actually applying to college. Most of these students come from less privileged backgrounds, whether that be because of their race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, they are emergent bilingual students, they themselves would be first generation students, etc. Through lack of accessible knowledge on the students and families parts, many qualified students are missing out on a major opportunity to elevate their careers. My mission is to motivate students to take ownership of their learning through the development of ePortfolios so that they may feel confident in their pursuits of a college education and the career of their dreams. In addition, parents could gain peace of mind by becoming more informed on what exactly it takes to attend and pay for college, so as to make them a positive, motivating force for their students.

My organizational influencers include my ADL professors, my ADL collaborative group members, my coordinator Dr. Tracy Shamon, my component director Yvette Gomez, local district administrators, local district AVID coordinators and educators, local high school counselors, and participating students’ parents and family members.

Resources

Covey, S., McChesney, C., & Huling, J. (2012). The 4 Disciplines of Execution: Achieving your wildly important goals. Simon and Schuster. (Read 2nd)

Grenny, J., Patterson, K., Maxfield, D., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2013). Influencer: The new science of leading change. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Grenny, J., Maxfield, D., Shimberg, A. “How to 10X Your Influence.” VitalSmarts, https://www.vitalsmarts.com/resource/10x-your-influence/. Accessed 1 April 2023