On behalf of the PAC Executive Committee here at Burnaby Central Secondary, I wanted to send you an email to reiterate what an excellent presentation you gave to our parents and students on scholarships. The feedback has been extremely positive. One parent stated that it was the best presentation they had ever attended.
The parents felt you were engaging, knowledgeable and were able to keep the attention of the students. They left feeling more confident about the scholarship process and what they needed to do, even for the younger grades. The feedback from other parents that attended from Moscrop Secondary School was the same. The PAC Chair has asked if we would be willing to partner with them again next year to have you back. Our parents agreed wholeheartedly, and we will have you back again next year, hopefully earlier in the school year.
Our Scholarship Coordinator attended your seminar and she was impressed by the amount of detailed information you provided, particularly on essay writing. She already does an amazing job for our students, but now armed with the knowledge you provided, she feels more motivated and excited about the future potential for our students in obtaining scholarships. We have no hesitation in recommending you and your program to any secondary school, you deliver what you promise and you do it with excellence!
-Sandra Enriquez, PAC Chair Burnaby Central Secondary
Thank you for all of your help over the years, Brittany! Our track record for receiving scholarships has increased substantially since you started doing presentations at Rockridge in 2010. With a 400% increase in the average cost of tuition in British Columbia since 1991, every little bit helps. I find the information that you share is also valuable to our many students who are required to do a supplement with their post-secondary applications as well. Keep up the great work, Brittany!
-Leesa Alldred, Career Advisor at Rockridge Secondary School
I have graduated from Queen's University now and I'm happy to let you know that I graduated with 20 scholarships worth $82,000. Thank you so much for your help throughout the process. It is through your help and support that encouraged me to apply to 50+ scholarships and successfully win a lot more scholarships. There's some students who wanted me to share tips from winning scholarships. I'll be giving two talks in November to share my experiences and I would like to direct people to you to help them with scholarships because you helped me so much!...You're going to continue to change the lives of so many students.
-Newton Zheng, student
We have never met, but I wanted to write and thank you for creating your guide book. I bought a copy for my son when he was in grade 10, and he found the tips and ideas inspiring. He started keeping track of some of the things he was doing and decided to volunteer on a local farm. That lead to him meeting some local leaders and being inspired to start his own podcast. One thing lead to another and soon he was taking some initiative in our community, helping lead a youth COVID forum and was voted Prime Minister at his high school. He did apply for scholarships and found your templates and examples in the guide book really helpful. Just tonight he found out he is a finalist for Loran Award and has won $5000. There were many people who helped him on his way, and he is a hard working young man, but your guide book really did make a difference! Thank you for writing it! To all other parents, I can heartily say it was one of the best $25 I ever spent.
-Sarah Dakin, parent
Thank you very much for presenting to our students and parents at Johnston Heights . Your presentation, as always, was dynamic and informative. I have now invited you to present in two schools at which I have been principal and, by far, your presentation has drawn the largest parent and student audiences than any other event (except commencement!). We encourage students and parents to be partners in planning for post-secondary and scholarships and I believe that helping families to plan ahead and to prepare for the future is what attracts them to these sessions.
-Cory McLaughlin, Principal at Johnston Heights Secondary School
Thank you for your time, talent, patience and preparation yesterday. I feel you have provided us with enormous value for money - FAR beyond what I expected to come out of the session….Lastly, big big compliments on another front: I have spent an inordinate amount of time on Zoom and Google Meet over the last two months. It is very difficult to look professional, convey energy, enthusiasm and encouragement in anywhere near the same volume as when in person using these media. You were smiling, nodding, seemingly looking at us even though we had our camera off for a long part of the call. You hit it out of the park!
-Madeleine Costanza, parent
Thank you so much. We both learned a huge amount and were astonished by your ability to reflect things in a positive way. We will look at everything you've sent and go from there. This is a truly life altering service you offer.
-Sam Nicol, parent
Thanks to your generosity, kindness, and time, I have been able to apply your helpful feedback to create an amazing portfolio that truly describes who I was, am, and who I hope to become in the future. I have been super lucky to have been awarded the BC. Soccer Scholarship, the District Authority scholarship at my school and the Capilano Excellence Scholarship, and the Sea to Sky Women’s Soccer Scholarship that will help me pay for my next four years at school. I am so glad that I was able to meet you and listen to your story. I was so worried about finding and applying for scholarships at the start of the year, but thanks to you I had someone to help me sort through my thoughts and put my ideas and experiences in a format that represented my true personality and identity. Thanks to you I am now able to focus on my studies and soccer, and not worry so much about paying off my tuition, costs, and rent. You are amazing Brittany and I am once again so thankful for you, my family, teachers, friends, and of course the scholarship donors for helping me discover the benefits of sharing myself and discovering the possibilities that could help me unlock my future and find the key to success!
-Alyssa Cox, student
Thank you for helping my daughters this week by introducing them to the opportunities of scholarships. They were both very impressed with your knowledge and suggestions. The whole scholarship process seemed unattainable to them before meeting with you. You really have a way with young people and I'm very grateful to have found you!
-Diane Zurowski, parent
On behalf of our family, we would like to THANK YOU for your help in providing us with the valuable information regarding potential scholarships. We are more than happy to let you know that our daughter has received a $20,000 entrance scholarship! Please feel free to share this information with your potential clients- we would never be able to achieve this without you! Many thanks and all the best!
-The Egi family
I wanted to say thank you once again for coming and giving your presentation to the girls, guiders and parents within Lougheed Area Girl Guides. You are a phenomenal speaker and it is evident that you are passionate about your profession. I know this will give our members a step up when beginning their scholarship and bursary applications...I truly did love your presentation and I think it definitely will give an advantage to anyone who attended.
-Laura Nicolai, Lougheed Area Girl Guides Awards Adviser
I highly recommend Brittany Palmer’s scholarship seminar, as she is a dynamic, thoughtful and engaging speaker. Her informative presentation is full of practical advice and useful tips. Both students and parents appreciate her skillful ability to simplify the daunting scholarship application process. Her expertise allows Brittany to guide her audience through the complexities of post secondary scholarship and bursary applications. She does not make the students feel stressed or anxious. Instead, she helps them navigate through the process and feel less overwhelmed. Brittany is a most caring and approachable presenter who genuinely seeks to support students and show them how to make post-secondary education attainable without creating significant debt. “Unlock Your Future: The Key to Scholarships” is a most successful presentation that will not disappoint.
-Beth Applewhite,Vice-Principal at Johnston Heights Secondary School
I cannot thank you enough for the {Unlock your Future} workbooks. They are invaluable...I had a great introductory seminar with the students, and we will be using these books throughout the year.
-Amanda Da Silva, University and Transition Advisor at The Westside Schools
We were fortunate enough to be given Brittanys contact in September of our daughter's Grade 12 year. Having grown up outside of Canada, the whole scholarship scene was a mystery to us. Brittany gave us clear guidance on how to navigate the system and excellent tools to do so. These included identifying every possible positive event from our daughter's activities and giving it a name that would resonate in scholarship applications. She enabled Madeleine to look upon her achievements as something to be proud of and write about them confidently and she assisted in producing templates for scholarships. Suffice to say, we finished the session with a clear idea of where to focus efforts for applications and our daughter took this onboard independently from there on and has successfully secured two significant scholarships that she is incredibly proud of. She couldn’t have done this without Brittany's help and she made it feel attainable. Thank you so much.
-Cindy Luntley, parent
A big thank-you for coming to our school today and explaining to our grade 11 and 12 students the importance of organizing a scholarship binder/portfolio, writing essays and helping them to remember the mantra: "APPLY, APPLY, APPLY!!" You have worked with our school since 2008 and it is always a pleasure to have you visit with your inspirational and motivating advice.
-Cathy Hughes, Career Centre Assistant at Princess Margaret Secondary School
I want to thank you for your amazing inspiration you bestowed upon {my son}! Your {consultation} session was so dynamic and professional. WOW.
-Vanessa Shortis, parent
I wanted to let you know that I won the CIBC YouthVision Scholarship that you helped me so much with! So thank you, thank you, thank you! My appreciation is endless. I'm so excited for post-secondary now.
-Masha Baeva, student
What an amazing presentation Brittany! We are looking forward to delving into the scholarship process now and feel like we actually have some tools to do that! I wanted to pass along how impressed with your presentation I was and applaud your public speaking skills. Well done and many thanks!
-Tracy Goyer, parent
The Lillooet Secondary School Parents Advisory Council was thankful to be able to have Brittany Palmer visit our school and speak to parents and students. Our small community does not always have access to the same resources as larger centres and often our students miss out. Brittany traveled to us, opened our eyes to new opportunities and gave us a clear picture of what we need to do to begin accessing funds for post-secondary education. Thank you Brittany for the work you are doing! We look forward to inviting you back to present to new students and community members next year.
-Orra Storkan, PAC Chair at Lillooet Secondary School
One could almost feel the sigh of relief that went over the crowd of students and parents when Brittany Palmer told them that there was a scholarship out there for everybody....Brittany Palmer, founder of Unlock your Future, recently gave a presentation to the Rockridge community regarding how one can fund their post-secondary education through scholarships. She emphasized the fact that scholarships are not out of anyone's reach and one should not be intimidated by them....After Brittany's presentation, I know that many of our Rockridge students are well on their way to applying for their own scholarships.
-Jeannette Laursoo, Principal of Rockridge Secondary School
-Excerpt from blog post "Navigating the Scholarship Process." Full post available here.
I just wanted to say thank you again for all of your help last year. In my grade 12 year, I won the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award, Simon Fraser University's Dean Entrance Scholarship, Trevor Linden Community Spirit Scholarship and several other awards. It all started with meeting you in October last year. I applied for every scholarship out there that I was eligible for. I kept trying, just like you told me to! Now I can focus my time on getting involved in the community and I'm so excited!
-Zoya Jiwa, student
Brittany Palmer has been helping our students apply for and win scholarships for seven years in a row. We find her seminar informative, current and relevant, but she balances this with her ability to see the application process from both a high school student's perspective as well as the scholarship provider's. Thank you Brittany for your excellent service!
-Mari Warrior, Tamanawis Secondary Career Centre Assistant
Just wanted to thank you again for your informative presentation last night. You are a very engaging speaker and kept the audience's attention the whole evening. From the number of parents and students who stayed afterwards with questions, it is clear your message hit home and opened their minds to the many scholarship opportunities out there. We will definitely set up another presentation for the coming school year.
-Russ Ladd, Co-Chair West Vancouver Secondary Parent Advisory Council
I just wanted to email saying a huge thank you! Because of your help I won a $1000 school scholarship and a $5000 Pathway to Education Scholarship. So thank you again, you are truly amazing!
-Paige Quinn, student
We had a successful turnout for our speaker event with Brittany Palmer of Unlock your Future. There were approximately 210 people in attendance...we had many students and families come from other high schools and school boards to join us. After speaking with some of the parents and students, many commented on how amazed and invigorated they had become with hearing Brittany's story... This made many realize that they too could go to post-secondary and not have to be debt ridden also. One young lady actually told Brittany and I that she was inspired to start her scholarship journey that night!
-Chair of the Sir Charles Tupper Secondary Parent Advisory Council
Brittany Palmer's presentation "Unlock your Future" at our school brought vigour and determination to provide opportunities for our students to obtain scholarships. The presentation helped the students to go from discouragement to having a set of skills that enabled them to experience success in applying for scholarships. Brittany Palmer's presentation has deeply affected how we as a school promote scholastic achievement and our methods of rewarding them for these achievements.
-Roy Campbell, Academic Counselor (retired) at Richmond Christian Secondary
Brittany Palmer's presentation really does unlock important information for students on how to approach and organize the scholarship process. Students end up with useful and practical skills that help them get started and stay on track. Students still come in and speak to me about something that Brittany said...evidence that her lively and informative presentation resonates. Parents love it too because they understand how they can best support their student through a sometimes bewildering experience. We plan on having her return to our school every year!
-Pam Jones, Career Advisor at G.W. Graham Middle Secondary School
Brittany presented to a group of high school students at our conference, and they were enthralled by what she had to say. The students were immediately fishing for paper and pens; to make note of all of Brittany's excellent suggestions and to ensure they were doing all they could to apply for and win scholarships. I would highly recommend Brittany as a speaker-she is very enthusiastic and well-spoken. Brittany had us all sitting on the edge of our seats!
-Debbie Clelland, co-ordinator of the What Can YOUth Do? youth symposium
A few months ago we had two daughters applying for universities and scholarships. We were feeling overwhelmed. We couldn't figure out where to start and how we could get it all done. Of course, these feelings transferred to our daughters who struggled with where to focus their energy. I booked a private consultation for our daughters with Brittany. By the end of their session we had two very motivated daughters. I never had to encourage (nag) again! They completely took charge, got all their university applications out and went straight into scholarship applications. Unbelievable. A parent's dream! I can't thank you enough Brittany!
-Michelle Gongriep, parent
I wanted to thank you for all your help with my application essays. I can't express how much of a help it was to get feedback from you. I really appreciate everything you did!
-Siobhan Hewitt-Kenda, student
Thanks again for the consultation. Taylore and I both got a lot out of the session. I can't believe that by the end of the day she was on her way with a rough draft essay! I can guarantee you that Taylore will work hard at getting this going. Thanks for helping out, I think you have done a wonderful job.
-Judy Anderson, parent
On behalf of my daughter and I, we just wanted to thank you for our wonderful presentation on "Unlock your Future-The Key to Scholarships" last night at Carson Graham. Your information is invaluable and I loved that part you shared about your "mom nagging you constantly" to fill out the scholarship applications...it was humourous yet very real! Your tips and suggestions about putting together a very detailed portfolio were helpful and we look forward to seeking out and diligently pursuing the scholarship application process...I am so pleased that you've done well and that you are now sharing this knowledge with parents and students. Communications appears to be a perfect direction for you to pursue and we wish you all the best in the future as you inspire many more students and parents!
-Michele Gustafson, parent
I just wanted to thank you for a great presentation. I attended your talk the first time you came to RCS two years ago even though my oldest child was only in grade 10 then. I had always remembered what you'd talked about and was so glad to hear you speak again. This time I found the information you had to share was even more specific regarding how to apply, etc. The handout you gave out was excellent and I made extra notes. Hearing your presentation a second time, and now looking at the more specific information you gave out, my daughter is really keen to pursue this and I think it will definitely be a Christmas Holiday project here at home this year. PS: You're a very good speaker, you speak very naturally and honestly.
-Stacey Gilkinson, parent
I just wanted to thank you for coming to Mouat- it helped me SO much. I'm looking at every possible scholarship right now...Your information definitely got me thinking about what I need to organize and to just put myself out there. Thank you so much!
-Hailey, student