On Wednesday, February 12 the COPE Office hosted Amber Quinney, the Scholarship Queen, for two scholarship workshops for HEOP students. The workshops, called Money on the Table, taught students skills to market themselves to win scholarships for college.
Amber went over numerous important skills with the students, from setting “SMART ” goals for their scholarship search to using network connections, such as their academic advisers or Canisius alumni, to help achieve those goals. Attendees were inspired to build their personal, authentic brand. She also covered the importance of encouraging and affirming themselves along the way.
Amber introduced concepts to students including how to study before a scholarship interview. She discussed how to do this and provided a helpful checklist. Students also had the opportunity to practice pitching themselves, the way they would before a potential scholarship board. Amber spoke about storytelling as the secret to winning scholarships and the pitching exercise helped students begin to work out their own stories.
Amber ended the workshop by putting the numbers up front and showing that the amount of money you can earn from a scholarship is well worth the time spent putting in the leg work. These workshops were an excellent opportunity for students to learn, in Amber’s own words, “how to stack dollars instead of debt.” The price of college can be a barrier for many students, which is why Amber aims to teach students additional ways to fund their college dreams so they can thrive in college without the stress of student loan debt.
Amber Quinney is an alumna of Canisius College who paid her own way through college with the scholarships she earned. She is now an entrepreneur, competitive scholarship coach and speaker. The COPE Office was excited to welcome her back to campus for these workshops.
Submitted by: Branwyn Wilkinson, administrative associate, COPE Office
