Tezeta Tamrat is a second-year adviser serving with the Davidson College Advising Corps at Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

By Tezeta Tamrat
College Advising Corps

“Congratulations, Tezeta, you’ve been selected to be a college adviser at our largest new partner high school with over 650 seniors.”

My heart immediately filled with enthusiasm after my Davidson College Advising Corps (CAC) Program Director, Mary Alice Katon, shared this life-changing news.

Then, the numbers 6-5-0 kept repeating in my head. I anxiously pictured scurrying the crowded hallways to advise 650 seniors on their post-high school plans. As a soft-spoken, petite young woman who frequently passes as a high-schooler, I feared I would not be able to reach enough students.

However, 6-5-0 have now been replaced in my head with another set of numbers: 9-0-0. That’s the number of seniors I have been privileged to support over the past two years.

As a first-generation daughter of Ethiopian immigrants, and a graduate of a high school served by a CAC adviser from the University of Virginia, CAC resonates strongly with me.

I was one of those 650 students. In high school, all I understood was that my adviser was “young like me” and could help me get to college. I attended many of the college application and financial aid workshops and college fairs she hosted.

In addition to my CAC adviser, I was also very fortunate to have a phenomenal guidance counselor, Mr. Frazier, who guided me one-on-one—often sharing different summer opportunities and scholarships. I shared all the exciting new college lingo, like SAT, rolling decision, and FAFSA, with my friends, and they started calling me their “College Adviser,” a sign of what was to come.

Looking back, it was that moment I realized that college access support was crucial to my community of other first-generation, low-income, students of color. It was no surprise to my family and friends when I signed on with CAC five years later.

Serving at a large public high school every day has its own set of challenges beyond the senior class size. However, I have learned a lot from every piece of it. 

I developed confidence in my ability to manage tasks amidst tight deadlines and unpredictable situations. I built relationships needed to host parent nights and FAFSA workshops in collaboration with the school counselors, teachers, and administrators. I expanded my view of success as a college adviser; I not only want to help students get to college, but I want them to stay until they graduate. To this end, I connect them with on-campus retention support resources, such as summer enrichment programs.

CAC has provided me with two unforgettable years of professional and leadership development. I was selected to serve as a Research and Evaluation Fellow and worked closely with our national team on research and evaluation efforts. Not only did I learn ways to interpret data, but I presented and co-facilitated numerous sessions at our CAC conferences to promote data-driven advising among my peer advisers. My presentations all stem from my invaluable experiences managing and advising a large, diverse caseload.

I am eager to use all my experiences for my post-graduate degree pursuits. Through CAC, I’ve realized I have a passion for building up individuals and organizations around me. I intend to pursue capacity-building on a larger scale, specifically through advising social enterprises.