By Sydney Goitia-Doran, The Seattle Medium
As part of their overall mission to help students attend and complete college, the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) hosts its annual portfolio project to help African American students decide on a college and prepare their application materials.
Linda Thompson-Black, area development director of UNCF Seattle, which includes Washington, Oregon, and Alaska, says the program includes college preparatory resources, access to their annual college and career fair, and scholarships with help from local businesses.
“Our mission is to increase the number of college and scholarship applicants from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds,” Thompson-Black said. “Our strategy is to engage, enable, and ensure that 11th and 12th graders across Washington, Oregon, and beyond have the tools, access, and exposure needed to pursue college.”
According to Thompson-Black, the program delivers measurable results—96% of participants go on to college. Each student who completes the program also receives a scholarship ranging from $1,000 to $3,000.
“We want all of our kids who complete the portfolio project to have a sense of success,” said Thompson-Black. “And they apply for our scholarship just like they would apply for any other scholarship, so they have the experience of applying.”
A major part of the program is the annual Historically Black College and University (HBCU) tour. The tour gives the participants a chance to visit many of the campuses, offering a glimpse into Black college life and what it takes to be successful.
“It’s more than a tour, it’s a leadership program and career development,” said Thompson-Black. “So they go to Atlanta, we go to Clark, Morehouse, Spelman, and Fort Valley State, because it’s kind of a college town experience, and then they have a career development lunch with professionals from the Atlanta area.”
Kisa Dupe, a rising sophomore at Howard University who participated in the program during high school, says the Black college tour showed her the reality of HBCUs beyond the media and inspired her to attend one.
“Given the opportunity through the portfolio project to actually go on that tour and experience those HBCUs was very life-changing for me and that really solidified in me that I knew I wanted to go to an HBCU,” Dupe said. “Before I was more open to other options.”
There is more to the portfolio project than the trip. The year-round program includes a free 14-week boot camp where students receive help crafting their college applications, including essay writing and how to apply for federal financial aid. Dupe says the assistance provided by the portfolio project was very helpful when it came to her college application process.
“I didn’t go to a school that really helped with the college applications as much as I was expecting them to when it came to senior year, because our counselors were so overwhelmed with students,” Dupe said. “But having the portfolio project there, I got one-on-one writing help, one-on-one advice on how to secure letter recommendations, places where I could go apply for scholarships. And at the end of the 14 weeks, I really had a physical portfolio.”
The portfolio project’s impact extends beyond high school. After participating in the program, Dupe returned this summer as an intern for UNCF, gaining a deeper understanding of the work that goes into supporting students like her.
“When I was in the program, I wasn’t realizing how small the office was. They would put on these grand things for us as students, but it was really only two or three of them that were responsible,” Dupe said. “But it was so impactful for me that I was thinking, wow, this UNCF thing is huge, but it’s really a small office and they need help from interns.”
For Dupe, those connections remain invaluable. She said the program’s mentorship and network continue to support her as she navigates college.
“I was actually able to stay connected with those people up until now,” said Dupe. “I still talk to them, and a lot of us ended up choosing HBCUs for college.”
