We’re pleased to highlight the impactful work of our Bridge Coaches–recent high school graduates who are giving back by helping high school seniors navigate the path to college.

We are proud of the enormous impact our Bridge Coaches made this past year, especially helping students successfully overcome the challenges around completing the new, fraught federal financial aid (FAFSA) application. At participating Bridge program schools, nearly 78% of graduating students filled out a FAFSA, compared to 57% of high school graduates in New York State overall.

Going to school isn’t only about earning a degree–it gives students the opportunity to develop into members of a community of peers and give back. Many of us remember a special teacher, counselor, or fellow student who helped and inspired us on the way to college. For students at our 15 participating schools, New Visions’ Bridge Coaches play that invaluable role.

Through Bridge, New Visions recruits recent graduates of our network high schools and trains them to work with their near peers, helping them with anything they need to get to college–completing college and financial aid (FAFSA/TAP) applications, guiding them through enrollment steps, and making any other related decisions. Bridge Coaches meet frequently with the high school students in collaboration with school counselors, and New Visions provides ongoing assistance and stipends.This summer, their dedication contributed to a 31% increase from the beginning of the summer through the end of August on FAFSA applications at Bridge schools.

“I value my education very much, as a first-generation college student. Representation matters — it definitely is important that I just went through the same process as the students. When I visit the school to coach, I see familiar faces who helped me though my journey from high school to college, and now I’m working alongside them to give back.”

Tashauna Wynter, graduating senior at Mercy College, graduate of a New Visions affinity school, and New Visions Bridge Coach

The Coaches embody an altruistic spirit and New Visions’ mission of ensuring equitable opportunities for all public school students: “I love being a Bridge coach, giving back and being able to help the students,” says Tashauana, a former student at Bronx High School for Law and Community Service, who is about to graduate from Mercy College and plans to become a Physician Assistant. “Since they come from an underserved community in the Bronx, students need personalized support to reach the same goals as their peers at private schools, who already get that level of support.”

Bridge Coach Cheick Diakite, current Lehman Macaulay Honors College student in Computer Science, and graduate from The Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics High School, agrees. “I was glad I got to act on my value of paying it forward,” Cheick told us. “[My high school counselors] helped me when it came to finding those resources; I take pride in the fact that I helped students in the same way.”

One of Cheick’s most significant accomplishments was helping students with FAFSA applications. Last year, the federal government launched the Better FAFSA, with the most significant changes to the application in decades. FAFSA changes and resulting submission delays continue to pose many challenges for counselors, students, and families.

Cheick relates an example of a student in need of financial aid who struggled completing the FAFSA application.

“With [one student], once I reached out to her and she joined the FAFSA completion event, she heard there were other resources to help her. Getting expert advice helped her see other possibilities, and then she enrolled at Bronx Community College the next morning … I went from someone walking me through the college process step by step, to taking someone else through step by step. I doubted myself at first, but the support and resources my counselor and New Visions staff provided encouraged me.”

Cheick Diakite, Lehman Macaulay Honors College student in Computer Science, and graduate from The Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics High School

Tashauna and Cheick are just two exemplars of our remarkable Bridge Coaches, and representative of how New Visions brings together youth, schools, and counselors to reduce inequities and overcome barriers to college enrollment for all students. We celebrate their dedication and are honored to work with them.