Interview: Aspire Education Connections

Below is the transcript of the interview conducted with Aspire Education Connections. The transcript has been condensed and edited for clarity purposes only.

Photo provided by Aspire Education Connections

Q: Can you introduce yourself and the general mission of your organization?

A: I’m Ananya Talanki, and I’m going to be a senior in high school in Colorado. I'm the co-founder and executive director of Aspire Education Connections. We started this about a year ago — our school is a very diverse school that has students from all socioeconomic statuses and all races — so we've seen a mixture of all different types of people. We started noticing that our peers and friends couldn't take certain programs or tests and didn’t have the proper resources to do what they wanted to do because of a lack of either financial aid, available resources, or education and awareness of the different programs out there for them. We started this organization with a small project called the ASPIRE box. What we did was we collected lightly-used test prep books, such as SAT, AP, and ACT books, from students because we realized a lot of seniors were just throwing them away. We started giving them back to students who couldn’t afford them. It started small, but it ended up pretty big here. After that, we expanded to seven different schools in Colorado. We realized that this was a scalable opportunity and project and realized we could reach a wider audience with a nonprofit organization. We made a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the aim of giving students educational resources and opportunities. We operate under three pillars: educate, activate, and advocate. Each pillar is designed to create awareness, create change, and give tangible resources to students so they can advance in their field of choice.

Q: What has been the impact of the ASPIRE box project so far?

A: With our project so far, we've been able to donate over 110 books to students. If you added up the costs, it adds up to about $2,700 that we ended up saving for students as a collective. We’ve donated about 110 books to around 70 to 80 students so far. Right now, we are trying to expand out of Colorado. We are also starting to partner with test prep companies such as Mindfish and PrepNow to get more books. This project is ongoing.

Q: Can you also talk a little bit about your Classroom Connections project?

A: With our research, we realized students that come from different lower-income backgrounds or different socioeconomic statuses end up having a disadvantage because of something that's not their fault. A lot of this starts at a young age. Our Classroom Connections project was aiming to conduct weekly or bi-weekly workshops with elementary school students to help them realize all the opportunities that they have and to help them develop academic skills that they can use in their middle school and high school careers. It's always hard to build these soft skills when it's not naturally given in the household or just not readily available to you. The Classroom Connections project was our way of conducting workshops with over 100 elementary students in which we would go to their classroom and conduct workshops about time management, finding opportunities, making an impact in your own local community, or staying organized - all these soft skills that will definitely help them academically and be mentally prepared for middle school and high school. We've been able to conduct these workshops in about three different schools with over 100 students. We’re resuming those workshops once the school year starts this year as well.

Q: Can you give an overview of the problem of education inequality in America? What are its causes and how does it affect those children?

A: Education equality is a problem all over the world, but in the United States, specifically, a lot of this problem comes with the inherent systemized bias in the education system. Schools are funded based on property taxes in the United States, so if a school is in a lower income neighborhood or in a place where property values aren’t super high, that school is just less funded than another school that is in a richer neighborhood. If a school is less funded, there are less programs, scholarships, and money available to give to students for certain things like taking tests. Teachers are also given a lower salary. Everything from sports to academics that should be funded doesn’t get funded. The problem is that when students have less programs or opportunities in the schools, those students are at an inherent disadvantage. I read this study where students of lower income backgrounds score about 70 points less on the SAT compared to the average. This is because of their socioeconomic status, not their intelligence. The lack of resources and support in their communities, which aren’t their fault, contribute to this problem as well as other issues that aren’t about standardized testing. In addition, this issue goes back very far. What’s more important is that in this new age there are a lot of good opportunities for students, but the problem is that students are unable to connect to these opportunities. Our goal is to act as the bridge between resources and students.

Q: How is COVID-19 exacerbating these inequalities?

A: You can definitely assume that it is affecting a lot of lower-income students, but it specifically harms students from low-income households and those with parents that work in the healthcare sector or receive contract based salaries. Since a lot of programs are online, there are students that don’t have access to technology or Wi-Fi. One-sixth of students in America experience some sort of poverty and of course this is a big range, but this automatically shows that not a lot of students have personal computers where they can zoom or Microsoft Team their teachers. Moreover, they don’t have a quiet study space to work intensely or study for a test. As you know, a lot of SATs and ACTs are being cancelled. Many students don't have the feasibility to either study for a later one or pay for an extra test if their school didn’t already provide it. Even with students that are in elementary school, the same thing applies. If their parents have to go to work, they might not receive proper care, and they won’t be able to engage in a social environment as much. The digital age is pretty great because it provides convenience, but there are accessibility and feasibility problems that come with it. Even though I know a lot of school districts are providing computers and resources for students, our goal is to provide students with additional help. During this pandemic, we started a new project called Aspire Network. The goal is to create a network of students in which they can help each other and get mentorship from college students about college applications, scholarships, school, time management, and basically all these soft and hard skills they will need. With Aspire Network, we’re trying to create a community with students experiencing the same thing all the while providing resources like prep books. We are also starting a new technology platform where students can get a computer for their school work. Students can get access to that as well as a mentor that guides them step-by-step through the college admission process. Because the class of 2021 has to go through this process without being in school, they don’t get to see their counselors and teachers. We are trying to provide that much needed foundation of support for them. We know we can’t fix everything, but we are assisting students to the best of our abilities.

Q: How can individuals, who don’t necessarily have the resources of a big corporation or government, help in the fight against education inequality?

A: We are a youth led non-profit corporation, so everything we do is with youth, and so you can assume not many students have connections with big corporations or networking connections. So students and people can help in many ways; we have a bunch of volunteers who help us collect books from other libraries or test prep companies. We also have a lot of college students who act as our mentors for our Aspire Network. We pair up college students, after we give them a little bit of training, they are paired with a student and they help the student with the admissions process and answer any questions. Again, we are always looking for more volunteers to help because as an organization, we’re not just trying to give resources, but also educate people across the nation about the problem that exists because we feel that when people truly know about the problem, then they’re able to act upon it. So we’re always looking for student associates to deliver this important message, share about the problem, and share about what people can do.

Q: If our readers are interested, how can they help your organization and its mission?

A: On our website, we’re now accepting applications for committee board positions and committee member positions. Both of these are leadership positions as well as just volunteer positions for students to help out virtually (everything is virtual right now unless they are able to do anything on-site, but again it is not mandatory at all). All our work is virtual and students can become a volunteer, and people can donate any sum of money on our website. This money will go to students needing resources. We are also starting a fund to provide financial aid to students planning to take AP or IB tests because it will be a larger problem come April and May. So yeah, donating to our organization, becoming a volunteer, no matter where you’re located, and even just spreading the word about the organization so we can reach a wider audience and emphasize the problem that is going on and provide more is helpful.

Q: Do you have anything else to add?

A: Yeah, well--first of all, thank you for interviewing me! But yeah, I guess one more thing I’d like to add is that we are a youth led non-profit, but our goal is to spread a community of love and acceptance because we know in this time that it is important to have each others’ backs. That’s kind of our motto for this whole pandemic: if you have something, and you can give it, whether it be time, money, resources, or effort, just give that and spread that. Again, we’re always looking for test prep books and for students to become mentors, volunteers, be involved in our digital communications, or just helping out any way. Yeah, that’s about it!

To learn more about Aspire Education Connections, please check out their website at: https://www.aspireeducationconnections.org/