Директор фонда стипендий в Александрии помогает студентам найти свой путь в колледж

By Julia Gwin | [email protected] When high school students come to Jasmine Milone for advice about college, she’s always very clear: Follow your own path. Sometimes that means shooting for a spot at an Ivy League school; sometimes that means finding the best technical college that will help fulfill a particular passion. Often, that means stepping into the unknown. As the executive director of the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria, Milone acts as a search engine for the college admissions process. Her day usually begins and ends on the phone with students, helping them to navigate the complicated world of student finances and the anxiety that comes with their next big step in life. Now working at the high school she attended four decades ago, then-TC Williams High School and now-Alexandria City High School, Milone has a special appreciation for the diversity and wide-ranging resources ACHS offers, which helped her make the difficult adjustment as a student immigrating from another country. Jasmine Milone was 11 years old when her family moved to the United States due to the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Leaving abruptly, Milone said her parents had to “start from scratch,” abandoning not only their belongings, but also the careers and lives they had built. “Alexandria became my home,” she said. “It’s hard when you’re from another country, and I don’t think I’m alone in saying that. I don’t really feel Iranian, I don’t really feel American, but I feel Alexandrian. That’s how much I know. It’s a good feeling to have roots here.” Milone earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University and accepted a full-time position at a boarding school in England, teaching English as a second language and serving as a kindergarten preparatory assistant. Although Milone spoke fluent English from an early age, she understands the challenges of adapting to an unfamiliar community. In addition to English, she speaks Persian, though she jokes she now speaks it at only a “sixth-grade level.” “I think the thing that helps working with people from other nationalities is just that appreciation of newness,” she said. “You want to communicate, you want to belong. You want to understand what’s going on and be a part of a community.” Milone eventually left education and entered retail management, beginning a career with Crate and Barrel. Before long, she was managing her own store while pregnant with her first child. “I knew I was about to have a baby any day, but he was very considerate and arrived on my day off,” she joked. But Milone’s love of teaching soon lured her back to a job at the preschool her kids attended. She spent a year as a lead preschool teacher before serving as the school’s executive director for nearly 12 years. In 2020, Milone learned of an opening for assistant director of the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria. “I was kind of looking to make a change,” she said. “I also knew it was healthy to leave when things are good.” Two years later, she became the fund’s executive director, a role in which she continues to work to make college more accessible for students at the same high school she once attended. This year, the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria celebrated its 40th anniversary by awarding $2.9 million in four-year scholarships to 215 Alexandria City High School students. Since its founding in 1986, the fund has awarded $23 million in scholarships to ACHS students. Milone said she remains “floored” by the generosity of donors. “The one thing that comes up again and again is the students who say, ‘I can’t believe somebody helped me get this scholarship. They’ve never even met me, and they wanted me to succeed. They believed in me,’” Milone recounted. To ensure donors understand the impact of their contributions, Milone makes a point of writing at least one thank you note every day. She said she does this because “it’s not transactional. We’re not just taking a donation, sending a form letter and moving on. We really are grateful. We want them to know their impact.” One story Milone said frequently comes to mind when reflecting on the Scholarship Fund’s impact is that of Rangena Hotaki. Hotaki’s family fled Afghanistan in 1983 after the Soviet Union invaded, as Mujahideen groups fought for control of the country. In a bus disguised as a garbage truck, Hotaki’s family dodged warring factions and eventually made the rugged mountain crossing into Pakistan. The family arrived in Alexandria with only $400. In 1996, a Scholarship Fund award helped Hotaki attend the University of Virginia and later earn an MBA from Harvard Business School. After graduating, Hotaki purchased a home for her family and encouraged her siblings to pursue higher education. “That, to me, is a testament to how a scholarship can change the trajectory of a family,” Milone said. In 2023, Milone helped Hotaki establish a scholarship in memory of her father to support underprivileged women. This year, the fund awarded its third recipient of the scholarship. “I still get really emotional when I talk about it,” Milone said. “I feel really lucky to have developed a friendship as a result of the Scholarship Fund.” Cassandra Johnson, the Scholarship Fund’s communications director and a former classmate of Milone, said one of Milone’s greatest strengths is her willingness to listen. “She tends to start a lot of conversations with, ‘What do you think of… ?’” Johnson said. “She’s very collaborative.” “I don’t know too many people with a kinder heart,” Johnson added. “She just seems to invite you in and welcome you.” While the organization’s mission has remained unchanged, Milone has worked to adapt its approach to meet the needs of today’s students. Under her leadership, the Scholarship Fund has expanded communication through text messaging, increased support for students after graduation and strengthened fundraising efforts as college costs continue to rise. Lester Tercero, a 2024 Alexandria City High School graduate who received a $40,000 Scholarship Fund award, said Milone remained a source of support long after he began attending the University of Virginia. When Tercero later decided to transfer to New York University, he said Milone offered reassurance during a stress-ful transition. “She is an absolute sweetheart,” he said. “When informing her of my transfer, I was met with nothing but respect and support. Transferring from a school like UVA may not seem like the most clever thing to do to most, but it was for me, and Ms. Milone made me feel good about my decision. No judgment.” Now, Milone finds herself at a unique moment in her career as some of the children she taught as preschoolers now attend ACHS. “There are some students who started out just last year as their first year, and I was like, ‘Oh, I want to be around when they’re seniors and kind of see them through,” she said. When they have questions about what comes next, college or some other path, Milone will be ready to talk.