Filling Gaps, One Scholarship at a Time

Victoria Okonkwo has never been shy about sharing her playbook. “High school seniors, the scholarship spreadsheet with over 50 opportunities will be dropping today,” she announced to her followers. It’s one of countless tips that have helped her reach more than 5.4 million accounts online.

Her guidance on scholarships, financial aid and internships helps students around the world make smarter financial decisions about college. So, when she applied for a major scholarship earlier this year, she relied on the advice she'd give herself.

“There are three main things I usually advise people to do,” she explained. “Stay away from using ChatGPT or AI in your essays and stories as much as possible. Don’t just list your accolades and accomplishments, tell a cohesive story that evokes real emotion. Finally, get another set of eyes on your work.”

That guidance carried her through the application process for Charter Communications’ Spectrum Scholars program, which offers a $20,000 scholarship, paid internship opportunities, mentorship and networking. In June, Okonkwo learned she was one of 15 rising college juniors selected for the program’s sixth class of scholars.

The Application

Victoria found out about Spectrum Scholars the same way she reaches her followers, on social media. “I was looking for ways to fund my education, and I was doing some Google searches,” she said. “Then I was on Instagram. There are a lot of scholarship pages there, and I saw it.”

While the money was certainly important, it wasn’t the only thing that drew her to apply. “I looked into it and learned about the professional development and the mentorship. It was more than just a scholarship, and I was intrigued,” she said.

The application itself required the standard set of basic info from applicants, like school name, extracurriculars, awards and employment history. Then came the part that Victoria spends most of her time working on with other students: the essay.

“The hardest part was the essay about your goals and aspirations," she said. "It left me thinking for a very long time because that's really where you have to set yourself apart." Limited to 500 words, she once again relied on a tip she had given so many others. Don’t regurgitate your resume and open up about the person behind the bullet points. "A lot of applicants tend to just build a resume, but the reviewers already have your resume. It's your time to show who you are and what got you here – everything they won't see on paper."

If the limited word count wasn’t enough pressure, she also needed to film a short video explaining why the scholarship mattered to her and why she was drawn to the telecommunications industry. Luckily, she says she was able to tap into her content creation expertise. "I spent a lot of time making sure the visuals were good because telling a good story is imperative, but making sure people can feel it is just as important.”

As Victoria sat down to write an essay that told her story, she returned to where her journey began in her hometown of Bayonne, New Jersey. “I went back to when I was 17 and talked about all the things I noticed [lacking] in my community,” she shared. “That’s where my passion really started, realizing there were so many gaps for things that were needed.”

She reflected on the experiences that shaped her perspective and inspired her to take action within her community. That mindset led her to found the Bayonne Student Leadership Council, a student board that carries out initiatives that create real change. The council helped organize and participate in a uniform drive, the Give Thanks Thanksgiving Initiative, the Bayonne Arts Festival and other community service efforts that made a meaningful impact. Through that work, she gained an even deeper understanding of the challenges people face, reinforcing her passion for creating positive change.

With her story sent off, the wait began. Several weeks later, she learned she’d made the finalist round, but still had her doubts about the final outcome. “I felt my experience wasn’t exactly in the telecommunication field,” she recalled. “I figured ‘Okay, I’m a finalist, but they’ll probably give it to someone else.’”

When her phone rang again the following week, the program’s recruiter delivered the unexpected good news. “’You got it!’ she told me. She said that my story, goals, aspirations and accomplishments stood out. I remember sprinting downstairs to my mom and just yelling ‘Mom, I won, I won!’”

Building a Better Future

Looking forward to taking advantage of all the resources Spectrum Scholars offers, Victoria is considering how to leverage this opportunity to support her long-term goal of building a community-driven organization or nonprofit.

“There’s a real competitive advantage for people who have resources and funding,” she said. “I had to figure out a lot of things on my own, so I put myself into programs like Girls Who Invest and am part of eight or nine organizations at Stevens just to learn as much as I can.”

That hustle is exactly what she wants to make unnecessary for students who come after her. “My job isn’t done until other underserved communities – first-gen students, people without resources – can win scholarships that pay tuition, go to school debt-free and get offers to their dream jobs.”

Victoria credits her time at Stevens with shaping how she approaches those problems. “Majoring in business and technology with a concentration in finance and information systems has given me a way to think about problems from both the finance side and the tech side of things, not just one discipline,” she said. She also credits Stevens’ size as helping boost her learning and gain access to direct support. “Because Stevens is a small school, I’ve been able to have really personal conversations. That one-on-one support is different from a classroom of 300 to 400 students.”

She's leaned into that community as much as she's benefited from it, taking on roles across multiple organizations, including project manager in the consulting group, a FIBA Fellow learning about roles in high finance and now Vice President of Stevens Women in Business. Her involvement and leadership on campus were just some of the reasons she was selected this past spring as an inaugural 25 Under 25 honoree. "Stevens has been a monumental part of my career growth and personal growth," she noted. “I'm very thankful to be a part of this community."

Advice for Others

For students weighing whether they should apply to scholarships like Spectrum Scholars or any other competitive opportunity, Victoria warns of not taking yourself out of the running before the race has even begun.

"Do not reject yourself,” she advised. “There are admissions officers and recruiters. That's their job. Never decline yourself first. If I had declined myself because I didn't think I was the right fit, I wouldn't have gotten this award. Take all your disadvantages, take your story, take everything you think isn't unique, and lean into it and see how it can become your competitive advantage. You may not see the light in your own story, but so many other people can. It’s really you against you.”