The Baccalaureate program, our flagship scholarship program, was created in 2011 to support students pursuing a high-demand bachelor’s degree in Washington state. Since 2011, WSOS has expanded from its initial mission of providing scholarships to those pursuing baccalaureate degrees to supporting a broader range of educational opportunities for Washington students.  

The Career & Technical Scholarship program (CTS) is one of those new WSOS offerings. CTS opened its doors to its first cohort in 2021. The program supports students pursuing apprenticeships, certificates, and associate degrees, with additional funding for rural students thanks to the Rural Jobs Initiative. 

When the WSOS team was building support services for the first CTS cohort, they looked to the success of the Baccalaureate program. They built out similar programs with minor changes to support the different needs of the students in these programs. For the last few years, these programs have yielded promising engagement, and Scholars in the CTS program have shared their satisfaction with the resources offered. However, the CTS program team didn’t see the same level of success as the Baccalaureate program when they started to scale support service programming for CTS recipients.  

A fresh approach for Career & Technical Scholars

Courtney Chen, the CTS Program Manager at WSOS, began to think about how to refresh these programs to truly meet the needs of CTS recipients and provide relevant and accessible career development opportunities. To determine what Scholars needed, she decided to host focus groups with students. Hearing from CTS recipients directly helped add context and student voices to the data they were already reviewing.  

The Opportunity Scholars who joined the focus groups shared that they are interested in taking advantage of career development programming but are incredibly busy. Most have full-time jobs, families, or other competing priorities. They mentioned wanting services that get straight to the point – services that are specific to their program and easy to engage with logistically. Unlike Scholars in our Baccalaureate program who may be exploring various career paths, CTS recipients know what they want from their specific program and want support that is expertly focused on getting them across the finish line and into their field.  

The new mentorship program for CTS: Flexible support for busy Scholars 

Courtney Chen and Jessica Vilai, WSOS’ Career & Technical Scholarship advisor, built a plan to create more intentional support services for CTS. 

“Support services are necessary because being a student goes beyond the classroom. To succeed in school, students need support that sees them as a whole person. Whether it’s peer mentorship for emotional support or industry mentorship to gain social capital, all the pieces matter when empowering Scholars to grow and take on their next challenge,” says Chen about the importance of these programs. 

Historically, the Skills that Shine mentorship program focused on pairing industry mentors with Scholars for a specific period. For CTS, mentees and mentors were paired for a 3-month cycle. To meet CTS recipients where they are and directly address what they voiced in the info sessions, Chen and Vilai decided to reimagine what industry mentorship looks like for CTS recipients.  

To address the central challenge raised by Scholars, the reimagined mentorship program offers greater flexibility and accessibility for Scholars who value access to a mentor but need a mentorship program that meets them where they are. Now, instead of matching Scholars with one mentor for the whole program, Scholars will have the opportunity to: 

• Sign up for a one-time meeting with an industry professional at a time that best fits their schedule and needs.  
• Choose who they meet with based on who they decide is best suited to answer their career questions or offer advice.  
• Sign up for multiple 1:1 meetings with different mentors to help them take one step closer to achieving their credentials and finding a fulfilling career.   

Ultimately, this model enables Scholars to show up, ask questions, receive support from a group of experienced mentors, and then continue on with their busy lives. 

Adapting to meet the evolving needs of Opportunity Scholars 

“It’s important to continue adjusting support services because our Scholars and the landscape they’re operating in changes over time,” says Chen. We want to equip Scholars with the tools they need for success while in the program and beyond, which means we need to be nimble and willing to change to meet Scholar demand.”  

Chen and Vilai are dedicated to ensuring that Scholars have the support they need to graduate. “WSOS resonates with me because it helps Scholars get to their credentials, but it also helps Scholars get through their credentials,” shared Chen. “Entering a program is only the beginning; getting through it and persevering to come out the other side with your credential is incredibly difficult and rewarding. I’m consistently amazed by Scholars’ commitment to their academics and the resilience it takes to enter a program with so many other things on their plate. Many Scholars are going through a career shift or operating within unforeseen circumstances in a remarkable way, and to play a small part in supporting their success is incredibly fulfilling.”