2022 NY FAFSA Challenge Winner: Uniondale High School

Sep 13, 2022 | Blog

In a weekly series, Ed Trust–NY will highlight New York FAFSA Challenge Winners for the 2021-2022 school year and the promising strategies they used to support more students to complete the FAFSA.

At Uniondale High School, FAFSA support began in early October with afterschool support days where school counselors assisted students, parents, and guardians with their FAFSA. The counseling department partnered with financial aid representatives to host five “FAFSA Saturdays” where families received support and guidance with FAFSA completion. In December, Uniondale hosted an application marathon, where over 80 students and their families attended and were supported by counselors, administrators, and college professionals. In January there were multiple FAFSA events during the school day, including some in partnership with the Higher Education Services Corporation.

Steven, who will receive the FAFSA Challenge scholarship, is graduating from Uniondale High School in the top 1% of the senior class of over 530 students. He will be attending Cornell University and studying engineering. While at Uniondale, Steven set swim records as a member of the boy’s swim team and served as team captain his senior year. One of Steven’s legacies was organizing a weeklong orientation for 8th-grade students to assist students with transitioning to high school.