WHITE SALMON — The White Salmon Valley Education Foundation is offering juniors and seniors enrolled at Columbia High School a free college essay writing workshop on Oct. 12. The workshop, led by Katy Jablonski, writing and literature instructor at Columbia Gorge Community College, will discuss the power of storytelling, how to structure a personal statement and provide plenty of examples of powerful college essays. After the workshop, local volunteers with expertise in writing will work with students to help them edit and refine their essays.

“In 2020, we offered a free SAT prep course to students in our region,” said WSVEF Executive Director Amanda Lawrence. “We were planning to do so again this year, but then many colleges, including all state colleges and universities in Oregon and Washington, stopped requiring the SAT. This makes the college essay even more important for college admission. However, the cost of hiring a professional writing tutor remains out of bounds for many students in our region. Our goal with offering this free course, and connecting students to local volunteers, is to make college admission more accessible to students from all walks of life.”