The Office of Special Programs - College Prep opened a door for Jasmeen Wellere. As a first generation college student from South Shore, there was no one in her family who had gone through the process of applying for college and securing financial aid. An Upward Bound student from 2008-2012, Jasmeen attended Hirsch Metropolitan High School and went on to attend SIU–Edwardsville and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In the past fifty years, OSP's college access and success program has supported approximately 1,500 first-generation high school students.
"The Office of Special Programs opened a door for me. I'm a first generation college student, and there is no one in my family that knows this process, that has been through it. If it wasn't for that I feel like I wouldn't have had a plan," says Wellere. "It's a positive pipeline program and I never want it to go away!"
Jasmeen is now back on the South Side of Chicago and working as a social worker. When reflecting on her years in OSP, she says her years on The University of Chicago campus as a high school student helped her expand her horizons, understand college culture, meet and interact with people with different backgrounds, and create a plan for herself - all of which contributed to her success in college and grad school.
