Edison senior, Jasmine Valentino is one of two MPS students selected to receive the Act Six - full ride/full need scholarship. This was a highly competitive application process involving three rounds! There were only 25 students chosen for this prestigious scholarship which can be used at one of these three colleges: Augsburg, Northwestern, and Bethel. Jasmine has decided to attend Augsburg this fall and is interested in seeking a degree in ethnic studies, early education or social work.
Edison offers several college preparatory programs and Jasmine has taken advantage of most of them. She is an International Baccalaureate student and has benefited from utilizing the Career and College Center and has participated in College Possible and Upward Bound Vision Quest UMD. These programs, along with Edison’s counselors, provide one-on-one services in helping students with the college and scholarship application process.
As an International Baccalaureate student, Jasmine’s course work is very rigorous and requires a substantial time commitment. However, she still manages to take on several leadership roles while being actively involved in numerous after school clubs/activities and athletics.
Jasmine is passionate about increasing the spirit and cultural awareness in the black community and brought to fruition the Black Student Leadership Council in which she holds the position of chairwomen. This past month, she helped organize the African American History Month celebration which consisted of several student performances, poetry readings and a guest speaker.
Her other leadership roles consists of: YMCA youth staff/leader for Beacons, ambassador to the Social Justice Fellows, captain of the Volleyball team, cheerleader, and is a member of Voyager, a business leadership program. Jasmine also enjoys playing softball, walking her dogs and Nordic skiing.
Community involvement is important to Jasmine. She has volunteered at Youth Link, Feed my Starving Children, and in the past has helped maintain the Lowry garden.
Jasmine plans to continue her leadership role at Augsburg College by becoming involved in activities such as athletics and African American club. Her dream is to be a leader of a non-profit organization that oversees youth enrichment programs. When asked about her plans for the future, she responded with “I want to travel and learn about other cultures.”
Jasmine is a lifelong learner and gives credit to a former Edison English teacher, John Calhoun, for helping her work through the hardest times of her life and giving her the confidence to be successful.