2024 Masterclass

The virtual Summer Masterclass Series was started in 2020 to replaced canceled internships and work opportunities with paid professional development. Today, the summer Masterclass continues to prepare scholars for partner internships in the future, and offers a space to build relationships with their cohort.

Sessions are organized into weekly themes building on scholars' existing Foundation, Community, Power, Brand, and Future.

Cohort-building allows students to continue getting to know each other as they prepare for college as first-gen scholars. They are building their networks with illustrious speakers and with each other.

Ian Lopez

Executive Coach & Founder  Cambio Leadership

A special thanks and shout-out to Ian for co-hosting Masterclass for Week 3: Building on Your Community. A star volunteer and ambassador, Ian is also on Scholarship Plus' Associate Board. 

Sofia Edmundson

Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion  New York Public Radio

Sofia kicks off Masterclass this summer with a brand-new session called You, Inc. as part of Building on Your Foundation week. She breaks down the work of knowing ourselves into our values, knowledge, skills and experiences with an emphasis on our inner voice and thought-provoking questions, such as "what do you well when no one else is watching?"

Manjit Devgun

Co-founder & CCO  Manjit, Inc.

Globally renowned meditation coach Manjit Devgun returns to guide scholars in a grounding meditation and teach skills that they can always tap into to feel calm, happy, and successful — and "tap into the magic of you."

Erlinda Delacruz

Director, Community Programs  The Jed Foundation

Strong mental health is at the base of all success, and Scholarship Plus is thrilled to partner with the Jed Foundation to present their talk, "Set to Go: Transitioning to Life after High School".

Jayson K. Jones

Director, Learning Design and Innovation  McSilver Institute for Poverty Policy and Research, NYU

Board member Jayson Jones brings back "Asking for Help Is a Strength" to share about his personal journey as a first-gen scholar at Cornell University through a lens of social work and curriculum development training, and — our favorite — his incredible sense of humor.

Don DiMartini

Senior Vice President, Business Development  Citi

Don continues Scholarship Plus' collaboration with the Citi Foundation to leads scholars in an introductory session on money management, which we will follow with a reflection on our relationships with money as a step toward empowered financial freedom.

 

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Valerie Irick Rainford

CEO  Elloree Talent Strategies

As the founder of a company laser-focused on diversifying c-suites, Valerie inspires scholars by sharing her personal story of family history, lived experience, and perseverance — and her mission to make corporate America a more representative and inclusive space.

Mauricio Orantes

Sr Technical Business Development  Amazon 

Mauricio tackles the crowd-favorite topic of How to Find Your People (and Bring Not-Your-People Along) to introduce scholars to a matrix of relationships and help us identify the people who can lift us up on our professional journeys.

Ochi Nwokoro

Assistant Director, Employer Relations  Columbia Business School

Ochi gives our masterclass on how to start a conversation her own take. What do you do at a work event or in a conference room when you've arrived early and want to resist the urge to look down at your phone? And you're on the more reserved side, to boot. Ochi shares tried and true tips for turning a nervous moment into an opportunity, and teaches us about the power of "small talk".

Tangela Reid

Senior Human Resources Business Partner  Prudential Financial

Resumes — the unsung hero of job searches — and cover letters (perhaps even more unsung) remain important skills in one's professional journey, and we are grateful to have Tangela's keen insights into what makes good ones.

Phuong Tran

Partnerships Associate Director NYU School of Professional Studies

Generations love to hate on each other or call out behaviors that seem particular to one space in time. Phuong is a working professional on the millennial-gen z cusp, and identifies with both generations. She has some insights to share to help scholars erase the lines of difference at work!

Daphne Lundi

Moynihan Public Scholar  The City College of New York (CCNY)

Environmental and urban policy advocate, researcher and designer — Daphne brings her experience from across New York City: working at the Mayor's Office, and lecturing in public and private universities to the question of what is (self-)advocacy, and how do we do it?

Rosalino Molina

Founder & CEO  Elisa

To watch the rising star of first-gen and scholarship brother Rosalino is to see the success of creativity, perseverance, an amazing network — and someone who knows how to make the most of all three. Rosalino tells scholars the story of his mission to increase access to healthy children's food in Latin America.