Mychal Wynn, parent, educator, author, consultant

“I am on a mission to make a difference.”

Mychal Wynn, author of The Eagles who Thought They were Chickens, is a visionary who created the space now referred to as, “College Planning.” During the eighties, Mr. Wynn, through his staff development presentations, workshops, and keynote addresses in the United States and Bermuda, advocated for providing students with a purpose for learning—hence, dreams and aspirations. He trained teachers in creating multi-sensory classroom environments and developing differentiated interdisciplinary instructional units to show students the type of colleges and careers into which their dreams and aspirations could lead.

During the nineties, as his older son was progressing throughout elementary school and middle school, Mr. Wynn authored such books as “Building Dreams: Elementary Ed. Teacher’s Guide,” and “Ten Steps to Helping Your Child Succeed in School.” These books provided deeper insight into how to guide young children in conceptualizing potential college/career pathways based on their gifts, talents, interests, and personality types.

Mr. Wynn volunteered to guide the strategic planning of his son’s middle (Johns Hopkins Creative and Performing Arts Magnet Middle School – St. Petersburg, FL) to cultivate stronger relationships with students of color, those who would be the first in their family to attend college, and struggling learners by inspiring student achievement and guiding students onto college-bound pathways. These efforts, which resulted in Johns Hopkins moving from a ‘D’ to an ‘A’ graded school, are profile in his book, “Increasing Student Achievement: A Guide to School Improvement Planning.”

In 2002, as his son entered high school, Mr. Wynn published a series of college planning guides and middle school and high school students: A Middle School Plan for Students with College-Bound Dreams and a High School Plan for Students with College-Bound Dreams. As parents, Mr. Wynn and his wife, Nina, guiding their older son into a full need-based scholarship at Amherst College, one of the premiere liberal arts colleges in the United States. Six years later, while schools were continuing to talk about college and career readiness, Mr. and Mrs. Wynn guided their younger son into being selected as a Gates Millennium Scholar and attending Morehouse College, the preeminent liberal arts college for Black men.

Currently, Mr. Wynn is addressing the Black students’ college completion rates and student loan crisis with his Why Attend an HBCU series, anchored by HBCU Scholarships…and more*.

MARIETTA, GA, USA, Nov 25, 2024 — Author and college planning expert guides students onto debt free pathways through HBCUs.

Mychal Wynn, author, educator, researcher, and strategist has been guiding students onto debt free college-bound pathways since founding the Foundation for Ensuring Access and Equity, a Marietta, Georgia based nonprofit in 2006. Mr. Wynn has guided students into full scholarships at such HBCUs as Benedict, Claflin, Clark Atlanta, Dillard, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina Central, Tuskegee, and Xavier (LA), and into such large dollar scholarships as the CodeHouse Scholars, ELC Scholars, Gates, Jack Kent Cooke, and Ron Brown.

Mr. Wynn, in his HBCU series provides a playbook for identifying HBCU-specific scholarships and career pathways for high school students, community college transfer students, and students currently attending HBCUs. Mr. Wynn provides step-by-step guidance in not only researching scholarships, but in building a résumé, writing a cover letter, writing high qualify essays, identifying recommenders, and developing a scholarship winning “package.” Mr. Wynn’s HBCU series begins with “Why Attend an HBCU,” debunking myths regarding the quality of HBCUs and outlining the researched-based support offered by HBCUs that are placing Black students onto trajectories into richly rewarding careers and combatting the underrepresentation of Blacks across virtually all career sectors. Followed by “HBCU Healthcare Pathways” and “HBCU STEM Pathways” providing occupational and salary data of the fastest growing careers and presenting the unique opportunities through HBCUs into guaranteed graduate and medical programs, dual degree programs, and partnership agreements with some of America’s top graduate and medical schools.

The series is anchored by “HBCU Scholarships…and more*,” a 384-page playbook that responds to the United Negro College Fund’s report, “Fewer Resources, More Debt,” (Saunders, et al., 2016) which notes that over 80 percent of students attending HBCUs are taking out student loans to finance their education. As a strategist, Mr. Wynn believes in developing a game plan that is focused on matching to the ‘right’ schools and for the ‘right’ scholarships. Mr. Wynn is committed to ensuring that more students avoid being chained to a lifetime of repaying student loan debt. Through his books and workshops, Mr. Wynn helps students to understand how developing strategies for matching to 2 – 3 scholarships is all that is needed to increase on-time graduation and receive a debt-free college education. The books are available on the foundation’s website, Amazon.com, or through your local bookseller. Mr. Wynn is available to speak to students, parents, counselors, and community-based organizations committed to reducing the number of students being burdened by a lifetime of repaying student loans.

Prior to applying to an HBCU, I had no prior knowledge of the many merit-based full ride scholarships offered by NC A&T and other HBCUs, like the full scholarship that one of my sisters received from Claflin University. However, Mr. and Mrs. Wynn urged me to research these programs, informed me of the Dowdy scholarship, guided me throughout my application process, and prepared me for the scholarship interview. As I reflect on my 4 years at North Carolina A&T, I also reflect on the college planning guidance and support that enabled me to attend NC A&T on a full scholarship. Not only did my family and I avoid large sums of student loan debt, I was able to finance a majority of my graduate school application fees through my scholarship. In addition to the hugely beneficial financial support, my scholarship offered many networking and professional development opportunities. [Sydnee B., North Carolina A&T Dowdy Scholar].

Mr. Wynn has advocated for, written about, and designed curriculum focused on expanding postsecondary access to colleges and scholarships for first generation, low-income, and marginalized students. Deservedly, he has become one of the most preeminent and highly sought after speakers in the country. His writings and presentations are based on experiences gleaned over the course of 30 years of parenting and teaching.

A child of poverty and first in his family to graduate from college, Mr. Wynn has unparalleled insight into the issues and obstacles confronting students from high poverty and marginalized communities. However, such students are not the only students challenged with navigating preschool through high school pathways into college.

Many students fail to maximize the preschool through high school opportunities to take the right classes, earn the right grades, and achieve the right test scores needed to pave the way to full college scholarships. Most students will fail to identify their ‘hook’ and fail to match to the right college. Indeed, most student require guidance, support, encouragement, and inspiration.

Mr. Wynn has worked with students in elementary through community college; juvenile court schools; and alternative schools. He has worked with elementary through college faculty and administrators. He has worked with parents from lower income to affluent communities. He has worked with schools, school districts, faith-based and community organizations, and with policy makers. In essence, Mr. Wynn has worked with every stakeholder group concerned with increasing student achievement and supporting student success.

Mr. Wynn has been recognized as a ‘Transformational Leader’ for his service to the AME Church; as a ‘Citizen of the Year’ by the Chi Gamma Gamma Chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., for his work in the the community; and has received Keys to the City for the huge impact he has made in supporting students and families and expanding college access.

 

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