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Blog Archive: Searching for a College

Blue Mountain Union High School seniors (left to right) Sera Brooks, Jada Longmoore, Avery Nelson, Gabby Houghton and Lauren Joy.
Blue Mountain Union High School seniors (left to right) Sera Brooks, Jada Longmoore, Avery Nelson, Gabby Houghton and Lauren Joy. “If it wasn’t for Kassidy, I would be going to a school I didn’t love, because I didn’t realize how little UVM was going to cost me.” “If Kassidy hadn’t convinced me to…
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David Tabaruka photo
When David Tabaruka started as the Financial Controller for the Community College of Vermont last March, the new job felt like a homecoming and a triumph. “I said, hey, I’ve been here before – but this time, I’m part of the staff rather than a student,” he says with a broad smile. “It feels really…
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computer and student
April, besides being tax time, is highlighted as National Financial Literacy Month. For families with a high school senior, that takes on a special meaning, as it’s also when students are making decisions about what’s next … with cost often a primary consideration driving their choices. Options…
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Xavier Wood photo
In the fall of 2020, Michelle Legere walked into the sophomore-class advisory group at Richford Junior-Senior High School to introduce herself as a brand-new VSAC Outreach Counselor. Even on her very first day at work, she knew that Xavier Wood was a standout. “The students took turns introducing…
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Nick Williams
During the spring of his senior year at Burr & Burton Academy, Nick Williams had several college acceptance letters sitting on his desk. But, he recalls saying to his parents at the time, “I have no idea how I’m going to afford this.” “It kind of soured the process for me,” says Nick, now 24. “I…
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Rhiana Carr
When college-bound Rhiana Carr was starting her final year at Fair Haven Union High School and thinking about next steps, the top-ranked college just 18 miles down the road from her home in Orwell wasn’t initially on her application list. Even though Middlebury College was very familiar to her—given…
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Emily Maikoo graphic
Bennington tenth-grader Emily Maikoo made an astute observation this fall as an ensemble cast member of the Mount Anthony Union High School Drama Club’s production of Chicago. “While I didn’t have a starring role, I really liked how the director made everyone feel like we were a key part of the…
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Derek Hodgdon
Eighteen-year-old Derek Hodgdon grew up in Swanton in a typical Franklin County family. Hard work was expected, college wasn’t, and pretty much everyone assumed that he would go right to work in the metal recycling business that bore his last name. But while Swanton would always be home, Derek wasn…
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Aero Brunell
One summer day a little over two years ago, a small backpack was delivered to Aero Brunell’s house in Newport. When the rising seventh grader went to get the mail, she was excited to find that the mystery bag had her name on it, and she was even more intrigued when she discovered what was inside.…
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