In late October, Aspire's Lionel Wilson College Preparatory Academy held its first college fair, held in partnership with The College Board, College Summit, Hire and Higher, College Track, BPH Mortgage, Jerry Hamilton Photography. The fair allowed students to meet with college representatives from over 20 prestigious local and national universities, gather information about potential schools, and have a face-to-face conversation with admissions representatives.

Aspire drew admissions counselors from prestigious schools such as Yale, Harvard, Gonzaga University, San Francisco State University, Dartmouth College, Pomona College, University of California, Berkeley, and others in the Cal State and UC systems. College representatives were impress by the turnout, with over 400 students and parents attending the event. Workshops were offered on topics such as admissions to the University of California and California State University, Ivy League eligibility, non-selective private colleges, and enrolling in a California Community College.

After the fair, Aspire's head of college admissions, Vernell Deslonde, conducted a college path workshop for students in grades 6-8 and a preparing for college workshop for students in grades 9-12. All students were given a questionnaire on what they learned in at least two workshops, and both parents and students were asked to survey the success of the fair. The overall satisfaction rating on the student and parent survey was 96 percent, and 80 percent of the students thought the information presented by the colleges was "Excellent." One student commented, "The college reps were really nice, and there were so many colleges present. There was a lot of great free college information, too."

"Aspire's first college fair was a huge success," said Vernell Deslonde, Manager of College Admissions. "It provided an opportunity for students to get an impression of a school during the consideration process which helped them envision their path to college, and meet the admissions officers of the college of their dreams. It's a big step forward for Aspire and for our students, who are excited to write their college essays and fill out applications."

Most parents of Aspire students haven't been to college themselves, but definitely see college as the goal for their children. "This is why I sent my child to an Aspire school," said one parent at the fair. I really feel that this school is preparing my child to succeed in college and in life. Now, he comes home talking about college essays and names of universities!" Another parent said, "I love the extra hours spent with my child, the Saturday classes that I can attend, the work projects, and the motivation to focus on universities - in a few words, almost everything here is helping my child have a bright future."

This past June, Wilson Prep had its first class of seniors graduated, with 100 percent earning acceptance into the college of their choice. At graduation, parents were overcome with pride and hope.

The Aspire college fair was supported by sponsors including The Gap, Blockbuster, Costco, Safeway, Starbucks, Togo's and Noah's Bagels, and coordinated by Wilson Prep's Chauncey Markham and Steven Lam.