EDUCATION FOR SUCCESS
Our college access and scholarship program for low-income and first-generation students building their own futures.
trajectory . access . success.
trajectory . access . success.
DEI has been dismantled. Economic inequality is accelerating. For young people experiencing poverty, housing instability, or first-generation college journeys — the doors to higher education aren't just hard to open. They're invisible.
The Education for Future Success Initiative exists to change that — providing direct grants, personalized mentorship, and scholarship support so that every student, regardless of income or housing status, has a clear and supported pathway to their own future.
HOW WE CREATE IMPACT
Personalized Guidance
Scholarship Navigation
Financial Advising
The Initiative
In Fall 2025, we launched the Education for Future Success Initiative in partnership with Class 101 — a college planning organization whose mission is to empower students, serve families, and inspire greatness. Together, we provide what the system withholds:
What We Do
Each student in our program receives a $3,000 direct grant and works 1:1 with a dedicated advisor who supports them through every stage of their journey — from building a college list to submitting applications, from writing essays to applying for scholarships to planning for what comes after. We meet students where they are. We stay with them until they get where they're going.
Our support includes:
Academic coaching and test preparation (average score increase: 100+ points)
College essay coaching centered on the student's own voice
Scholarship identification and application support
Financial aid advising and literacy education
Career exposure, internship access, and resume development
Dedicated support for McKinney-Vento (housing-insecure) students
Our Impact So Far
Cohort 1 launched in Fall 2025 with 19 high school students — including 6 housing-insecure youth — in Indiana and Texas.
Of the 7 seniors in Cohort 1:
100% college acceptance rate
97% accepted into one of their top three schools
$11M+ in scholarships earned
$179,000 average scholarship offer per student
94% college retention rate — against a national average of 68.5%
Student Voices
"Being a part of this program has made me go from 'what ifs' to 'I cans.' I'm a lot more confident about this upcoming August and excited for what my future holds."
— Cohort 1 Student
"I felt very overwhelmed. I didn't really know what I was looking at or how to ask for help. After working with someone who helped me get into my dream school and boosted my confidence, I felt good knowing someone was on my side."
— Cohort 1 Student
"I had no idea how to access internships or scholarships. Now I'm confident because I have information and support from my advisor."
— Cohort 1 Student
Our Team
Carolynn Box
Independent consultant with nearly 25 years of ocean conservation experience, has traveled 25,000+ nautical miles researching microplastics with deep expertise in community science program design.
Dr. Timnit Kefela
Madeleine MacGillivray
Climate Justice Lead at Seeding Sovereignty, brings 10+ years of microplastics community science experience at the intersection of environmental justice, public health, and plastics.
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science & Resource Management at CSUCI, researches microplastic sources, pathways, and fates in urban and marine environments, and community-informed interventions to mitigate their impact.
The Mission
Seeding Sovereignty is seeding a community-based initiative to address microplastic contamination in drinking water and ambient air within frontline communities affected by failing infrastructure in the United States – communities whose infrastructure has been neglected and whose bodies have been treated as sacrifice zones. By weaving environmental sampling, collaborative research, and multimedia storytelling, this project will generate actionable data, center the leadership of those most impacted, and fuel policy advocacy for environmental and climate justice. This research is done by communities, not to or for them.
Low-income, BIPOC, and fossil fuel frontline communities are disproportionately burdened by environmental pollution and its devastating health consequences, and yet the data needed to demand accountability and change barely exists. This is not an accident: systemic political structures and the fossil fuel industry have long prioritized profit over the well-being of our communities, withholding health data before regulatory standards are set and routinely excluding residents from decisions about their own environments. Collecting this data is foundational to preventing harm, healing our communities, and building policy rooted in justice rather than power.
