In an instant—everything changed.
It was at the coffee shop around the corner, talking to my mentor, when it dawned on me. This wasn’t an option, it was a calling. An unshakable feeling down to the very last cell in my body that I had to share my passion and talent of finding scholarships with the world. I had no idea, in that moment, that my life would change forever. Or even more shockingly, just how much it would change… My youngest was just finishing 7th grade when I became a single mom. After 26 years of marriage, I never saw this one coming. With 1 of my kids in medical school, 1 already in college and 2 more that would be going soon, finding scholarships became even more urgent.
In addition, I was a first generation college student. This meant that I would be the first in my family to graduate from college. It also meant that this passion was burning deeper inside of me from my own personal experience. While graduating from college is a lofty goal at any age, it was even more so for my 18 year old self who had no financial resources to accomplish this goal. In addition, my family was wonderful but didn’t necessarily see the necessity of me conquering this goal. While it is true that many don’t need to graduate from college to accomplish their dreams and goals, I knew that I needed the training, knowledge, hard work and determination that came with obtaining my college degree.
I started college as a freshman, many years ago. ( in the 80s ) I soaked it up. I loved every part of college. The dorm, my friends, my classes and the whole experience. I can still remember my Interpersonal Communications class my first semester of college. It was life changing. My professor was Dr. Jim Towns and my textbook was written by the one and only Zig Ziglar. I could barely consume the material fast enough. The name of that book was See You At The Top. I made a decision that semester. No matter how long it took, no matter what obstacles had to be conquered, I would be the first person to graduate from college in my family. I went to school and then would take off a semester to work. It took many, many years to accomplish this goal. I eventually did obtain that college degree. While I’m very grateful for the opportunity to have done so, the lessons I learned along the way contributed equally to the person I am and the knowledge I have today.
As an entrepreneur, I look for needs of people and then find solutions to those needs. I build businesses and build solutions. That is how my first company, Imagine Education Solutions was born. Almost two decades ago, I began mentoring students through the college admissions process. I love cheering on the student each step of the way through choosing a college, finding a perfect fit major, applications and essays. Each step of the process is invigorating and being a part of the journey with students and families is the most rewarding work. I always knew I wanted to help others and I wanted to write. (I love combining my love for education with my love for helping students get an education. You can see a glimpse of that in one of my favorite blog posts. I try to keep things fun and relevant all while offering a fresh perspective of what is happening in the world of education. I’m now proudly getting the opportunity to do both.
I believe everyone has a bright future ahead. It doesn’t matter where you are starting from. If you are in high school, a current college student, an adult learner or if you’ve chosen to take a gap year or have a career that doesn’t require college at all. Each person is valuable. Each person has unique gifts and talents they can use to change the world, to make the world a better place for us all. It takes each of us to bring about the best future for us all. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
During my consulting years, I worked with some of the most amazing families on the planet. Imagine College Coaching, grew and was able to help many with the college admissions process. You can see some testimonies from students and families here. In fact, as my expertise grew, I was able to work with students on three continents. Working with students in Africa was a life changing experience for sure. I visited universities and boarding schools across the nation and made the most amazing connections. While this was the best part of my entrepreneur efforts, I had this nagging feeling that I could do more. I could help more students, more parents and the health of our educational institutions all at the same time.
While helping families with college admissions, financial aid and finding scholarship dollars for over a decade I suddenly realized the urgency on a more personal level. Changes were happening in my personal life, these changes would be the catapult for changes in my business as well. I knew that I had to to reach more families. Even families who aren’t facing financial difficulty appreciate scholarships and money for education. Contrary to popular belief, there are scholarships for everyone. Some of the wealthiest families I work with receive the most scholarship dollars and those who have monetary needs have excellent opportunities for scholarships and financial aid. It is a win for everyone.
Through my efforts to see each motivated student attend college debt free, Imagine Scholarships was born. This would finally allow me to share my scholarship secret sauce with many more people. At that time, I had no idea just how many people that would be but I did know I was giving it all I had. I wanted each student to have a chance to attend college, regardless of cost. Shortly after that, Scholarship Queen, a non-profit for students and families needing financial assistance was created. Perhaps the greatest impact was made by partnering with universities to help college students on campus as well as offer support for retaining current students and recruiting new students on college campuses.
When I looked at the fact that over $46 billion dollars was given away each year, I was determined that some of that would go to helping my students and my own children get their education. In addition, I knew that being a single mom meant that I would have more financial commitments and I wanted to attend graduate school to continue to offer the best to my clients and to stay updated on the current trends in the college admissions process. That meant that I would potentially have 4 kids and myself attending college all at the same time. It was through this epiphany, I decided to create a really cool way for myself, my kids, as well as other parents and students to have access to this money. I created a scholarship software application that makes finding scholarships easy, organized and efficient, saving you both time and money. My own kids are still in the college process and are benefiting greatly from Imagine Scholarships helping them pay for more and more of their education each semester.
When building Imagine Scholarships, I wanted to make sure it was affordable to everyone. It was important to me to make sure everyone could have access. My goal was for families to be able to access millions of dollars of scholarships for under $20 per month. I accomplished this goal. Imagine Scholarships is $16.99 per month for the possibility of students gaining thousands of dollars for the return on their investment. In fact, my database has over $9 Billion Dollars in scholarships and is updated daily to help students find the money they need for college. Because I always want to offer the best to my students and the universities I work with, I’ve recently added a video library to help students win the scholarships they apply for and I’ve also added hundreds of internships to help them get the experience and opportunities to be most successful.
In addition to Imagine Scholarships, I frequently post about scholarships and financial aid on my blog. I hope that this resource is something you find valuable and that you and your family can join hundreds of my other students and families in finding scholarships today! If I can do it, I know you can too! Ready to get started? Sign up here for Imagine Scholarships and here for blog updates. You’ll be glad you did!
Thanks for letting me share my story with you! I’d love to hear your story as well. Contact me here, anytime! I’ll look forward to hearing from you!
Warmly,
Sherri
WHEN SHERRI GRAF WADED THROUGH THE COLLEGE-ADMISSIONS PROCESS FOR HER CHILDREN, SHE SAW AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A BIGGER IMPACT ON THE WORLD. WITH A BACKGROUND IN EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS, SHE WAS EQUIPPED FOR THE TASK AT HAND. POWERED BY HER LOVE FOR HER FAMILY AND A PASSION FOR HELPING OTHERS, SHE CREATED IMAGINE EDUCATION SOLUTIONS. GRAF NOW WEARS THE NICKNAME “COLLEGEPRENUER” PROUDLY. SINCE 2010, SHE HAS WORKED WITH STUDENTS, YOUNG ADULTS AND THEIR FAMILIES ON THE JOURNEY THROUGH THE COLLEGE-ADMISSIONS PROCESS, HELPING EACH OF HER CLIENTS REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. ALONGSIDE HER TUTORING, SHE ALSO HELPS STUDENTS FIND SCHOLARSHIPS AND RECEIVE FINANCIAL AID. THE PASSION BEHIND THE COMPANY IS HER DESIRE TO HELP OTHERS ACHIEVE THEIR DREAMS AND THE BELIEF THAT WITH A GUIDING HAND, ANY YOUTH CAN CREATE A POSITIVE FUTURE. CONTINUING TO ROCK THROUGH LIFE WITH HER FOUR BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN, THE RIGHT ’80S BALLAD AND HER BELOVED GOLDENDOODLE, GRAF IS DETERMINED TO EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATION TO FIND THEIR PLACE IN THE WORLD.
https://imaginescholarships.com/
https://www.imaginecollegecoaching.com/