OHCHS College Essay Collection to be Published by Chelsea Rugg

Last spring an aspirations grant of $4,000 from the Oxford Hills Scholarship Foundation Committee was given to Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS) English teacher, Pamela Chodosh. Her idea was to use the money to create a book of college essays written by students from graduating classes 2009-2014. Chodosh recruited OHCHS seniors Jake Allen, Jordan Schorr, Ben Cuomo and Diamond Westleigh to help. Another OHCHS senior and Oxford Hills Technical School graphic design student, Carly Sauro, will be designing the book and cover.

Chodosh gave each student a position, as this will be their senior project. Jake Allen is the “research assistant.” He makes sure everything, including the right to publish essays, is legal as it will be a published book. Jordan Schorr is the “point person.” She makes sure everything runs smoothly and organizes the project. Ben Cuomo is the “head of the editorial board” but others will contribute to the editing process. Diamond Westleigh will be “tying up loose ends.” She is also the assistant production manager.

The book gives students “a chance to get their work out in the world when otherwise it probably wouldn’t,” said Allen. “It’s just a cool opportunity.”

According to Schorr, the book will be important for future seniors. It will help them write their essays and figure out what to write about.

Schorr knows what it feels like to have no idea what to write about. She says, “The questions for writing a college essay are simple, but really connecting it to life and finding someone or something that influenced you is difficult. I don't want upcoming seniors to be as stressed about this as I was. They should enjoy senior year. Writing a college ‘essay’ isn't really an essay. It's more of a short story about yourself and how it either impacted you or how you handled the situation.” 

Schorr also believes that “it's a quick 650 words that can make or break your college acceptance letter. It helps the admissions officers to get to know you and help understand what makes you tick.”

Chodosh agrees with Schorr, saying that she sees the college essay as a “personal story that tells someone something about that person.” She is interested herself in knowing personal stories and as a writer thinks they’re important.

College essays are still being accepted from students up until it is time to publish the book. The essays will be reviewed by an student run editorial board. Though most essays will not be disqualified, they have to follow all college board college essay guidelines. Some authors will be contacted about edits.

The book will be available in print and online. It will be sold for a reasonable price. Some will be given to OHCHS for the library and guidance, but the cost depends on the cost of the book. It will likely be available online at Amazon. 

While the team hopes to have a book launch event, Chodosh says this is “not a money making venture.”

The essays in the book won't look like college essays according to Chodosh. “They will look like any other piece of published writing.” The student’s name will be published with the essay but anonymity is possible. No one should be hesitant about submitting their college essay as they can leave comments and concerns during the submission process.

Though the grant was awarded to Chodosh and the book was her idea the students are glad to be involved. 

Says Schorr, “I heard her saying she needed someone to work on it with her and thought it was a good idea.” She joined right away.

Jake Allen and Jordan Schorr, two students working on the book, with the flyer to promote the book to students.

Photo by Chelsea Rugg

Hat Day Makes a Change by Jasmine Roy

Jennah Iggulden, Sophomore English teacher at OHCHS, is having her students participate in a “Sophomore Project”. Their project is to make a change; make an impact. 

After speaking to Mr. Moccia, principle at OHCHS, he gave some details about what the project is about. “One girl came to me and said she has an idea. She wants to support these families that don’t have enough money to pay for heat.” 

So, OHCHS will be having a hat day this friday, (the 7th) to raise money for heat. Once the money is raised, it will be given to Community Concepts so they can give heating assistance to local families. 

The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) provides money to help low-income homeowners and renters pay for heating costs. Recently, however, LIHEAP drastically cut the funds for heating costs due to lack of enough federal funding.

Now, everyone at OHCHS who participates in hat day will be part of making a change. “We give kids a sticker and they can wear a hat for a buck.. or more if they’re willing to donate. I think it’s a great cause. It’s sad when you think about families who are without heating oil when the temp is 15 below,” said Mr. Moccia. 
After having had ‘hat day’, OHCHS students and staff were able to raise around $300 dollars.

 Elizabeth Edwards student at OHCHS helps local families