Help Us Support More Students
If you’re looking for a way to support our mission, consider becoming a volunteer or a donor! There are a variety of ways to support us! Learn more about how you can help us support marginalized students on their journey through higher education.
Volunteer Opportunities
Even though we are a small team, we’re committed to BIG impact. Your donation of your time through volunteering helps us expand our capacity while working within our resources as a company. We could not do this without YOU. So thank you!
Volunteer as a College Counselor
We are looking for dedicated college counseling volunteers to join our team to help us as we serve pro bono high school students on Free and Reduced Lunch and from Title I schools for the 2024-2026 application process, committing to 15 hours over two years per student. You can choose to mentor between one and five students, tailoring your impact according to your capacity.
Barrier Breakers® provides a proven, structured curriculum that guides both students and volunteers through the college admissions process, including list building, career and major exploration, and academic advising. Students will use an online course platform with guided activities supplemented by bi-monthly check-ins with volunteers. Volunteers are not required to edit all student essays. Comprehensive essay editing support is provided to pro bono students through our partner vendors.
We seek volunteers who:
Are comfortable working one-on-one with students.
Have relevant experience in college admissions.
Can relate to the first-generation and/or minority student experience.
Are adept at navigating the processes and methods established by Barrier Breakers®.
Volunteer Profile:
Questions? Email Sydney at sydney@barrier-breakers.org
Over 85% of our students are first-generation college or law school students. First-generation students often need more support for internships and career guidance as they are the first people in their families to walk their educational path. Additionally, as many of our students are non-traditional students, they often need to support themselves through school or in between placements with work opportunities. As part of our comprehensive support model, we work to help our high school, college, law school, and aspiring graduate students find jobs and internships in their fields. Time commitment is flexible and can be tailored to your bandwidth.
Volunteer as an Internship & Career Counselor
Volunteer Profile:
Comfortable researching and evaluating career and internship opportunities.
Comfortable working one-on-one with students and providing interviewing and application tips
Strong organizational skills
“I didn’t grow up around any lawyers. I’m a first-generation professional student. I knew having someone who would help me along that journey would be extremely helpful and Sydney did just that.”
Hear more from Aisha, one of our clients who is currently attending Notre Dame Law School!
Have other ways you want to volunteer with us?
If you have a specific skill set that you think would be helpful to us, please reach out to us! We’d love to chat. We are also always looking for support with grant writing and research, digital marketing, graphic design, and data organization. Feel free to email us at admin@barrier-breakers.org to find a time to connect! Thank you for your interest in supporting our organization.