neighbors
11 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT
JEAN O’TOOLE
Co-founder of Connections101 helps students win scholarships
WRITTEN BY SARAH SLAVIN AND CINDY SCHWEICH HANDLER
Jean O’Toole relates easily to the
financial concerns of
families with kids seeking
higher education. The first
in her family to go college,
O’Toole, who is originally
from western Massachusetts, received
many generous scholarships, but still
couldn’t cover her expenses and had to
take out student loans.
Her post-graduation work at Montster.
com subsidiary Making it Count, where
she spoke to high school and university
students nationwide about academic
strategies, taught her that education costs
were increasingly stressing families out.
“I started opening my eyes to opportunities
Iwish Ihad known about,”
she says.
O’Toole started workshopping a
classroom presentation in New Jersey
high schools that evolved into aschool
assembly program. Through assemblies,
scholarship clubs, library visits and
seminars, Connections 101, the company
she co-founded in 2008, has instructed
thousands of students and parents
in the tri-state area tofind and win
private scholarships —ones given by
corporations, foundations, individuals
and other organizations.
O’Toole, who lives inOak Ridge, has
worked with students at Bloomfield and
Cedar Grove High Schools alot, as well
as others throughout Passaic and Essex
Counties. The pandemic, she says, has
only added to families’ money concerns.
Since its arrival, Connection 101 has
been working with students online.
Here are 11things you should know
about Jean O’Toole.
THERE ARE A LOT OF MISCONCEP-
TIONS ABOUT WHO’S ENTITLED
TO SCHOLARSHIPS,SHE SAYS
Families often assume that scholarships are
only for students with top grades, major athletic
accomplishments and/or deep financial needs,she
says, but they’re wrong. “There are a lot of private
scholarships where the only criterion is you’re a
student who’s on track to graduate,” says O’Toole.
O’TOOLE SAYS THAT SOME
SCHOLARSHIPS ARE FOR
KIDSASYOUNGAS5
Because scholarships are intended for educational
purposes,younger students may also apply
for them, and they are awarded in two ways, she
says. For scholarships of less than $1,000, a check
is sent to the family; parents may want to invest
the money in an educational summer program for
the child, or invest it for future education. Larger
awards, such as the $1,000 Angela Award for
female students in grades 5-8 who have an interest
in science, may come in the form of abond
students can use when they turn 18.
O’Toole has plenty of examples of gifts aimed
at younger recipients. “Google has a scholarship
open to kids inK-12, with several categories so the
little kids aren’t competing against the older ones,”
she says. The Zombie Apocalypse Scholarship,
which is for kids 13 and older, has adeadline of
Halloween and asks students to write a short essay
about whatthey would do in the case of azombie
takeover.
THINK LOCAL,SHE
ADVISES PARENTS
Students have a higher statistical chance of
scoring local scholarships because there are fewer
students competing for them, she says. “A majority,
probably 98 percent, of U.S. high schools have
their own version of Senior Awards Night,” she
says. “You can ask your guidance department to
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PHOTOS COURTESY OF CONNECTIONS 101
8 BACK TOSCHOOL 2020 WAYNE MAGAZINE