Helping students navigate towards academic success
By Mallory Sepúlveda
Photo of The Career Compass Coalition website from NBC4 News
In the deep and dark jungle of college applications, standardized test trees loom tall, their shadows casting doubt and apprehension upon the student explorers that hack their way through the shrubbery with Quizlet machetes. The recommendation letter river cuts through the land, thrashing menacingly, as the college essay chasm looms ahead, ensuring that even the most confident student explorers can’t navigate the jungle with ease. Students need help navigating the college application process, and senior Sophia Sim stepped up to provide aid to students around the world. Alongside Ohio senior Isa Eribo, Sim created The Career Compass Coalition (TCCC), a tool to make the journey through the jungle easier.
“The Career Compass Coalition is a nonprofit organization [that caters] to high school students,” explains Sim. “[It provides] free and accessible resources that they can access.”
Resources include study methods, college application help, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate class prep materials, information on scholarships, internships and more.
“We have a large array of these resources that they can access through Google Classroom. We also have a community-based type of Discord server where they can talk to other students to get more insight on what they specifically need.”
Students around the world benefit from these resources; The Career Compass Coalition has students from over 40 US states and 100 countries. This massive growth is attributed to advertisement on social media.
“We spread the message through social media—more than anything, TikTok. Our posts occasionally will blow up. They’ll go viral [for including] some types of specific tips that students might be looking for. It’s growing by the moment because of that thread of social media and that connection that we’re making.”
As of October 2024, The Career Compass Coalition TikTok account has over 14 thousand followers. But not only does social media connect TCCC to students, it also initially connected Eribo to Sim, who live over 800 miles apart and have never met face to face.
“Isa initially had the idea. She reached out to me via social media asking if I wanted to be a part of this opportunity. The two of us had to really plan this whole thing together throughout the entire summer.”
The pair worked tirelessly to get TCCC going from the ground up. They created the website, researched, gathered resources and went through the process of getting 501(c)(3) status, meaning that TCCC is tax exempt and federally recognized as a nonprofit.
“We did it between the two of us, together. She did a lot of the legal stuff, [and] I basically helped her research in that type of way. Really, it was a teamwork thing more than anything.”
The pair also recruited students across the country as staff members called “compasses,” who find more resources to post on the Google Classroom and social media.
“We’re 100 percent student led. We are based from a student foundation. I would say that probably gives us an advantage to connect to these students that are seeking for help. [We give] them reassurance that we’re basically in the same boat; we’re going to go through this together.”
After graduation, Eribo and Sim plan to continue fostering TCCC with the new knowledge they gain from completing the college admissions process.
“Isa and I have come to an agreement that we will definitely keep on pushing more towards the organization even after we graduate high school. College admissions is obviously a huge part of a student's academic journey, and having that type of experience will allow us to cater better resources to these students.”
On top of supplying free resources to students, TCCC uses its platform to give back to communities in need. Any donations or proceeds made are donated to buildOn, Pencils of Promise and Room to Read, all of which provide service and education to developing countries.
While braving the college application jungle themselves, Eribo and Sim dedicated themselves to helping others by building a nonprofit from scratch. Through social media, Google Classroom, and a community Discord, the two are on their way to creating a thriving and fruitful ecosystem of their own.
Photo of Sophia Sim provided by Sophia Sim
Photo of Isa Eribo provided by Isa Eribo