ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2025
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. This year, 60,000+ young leaders applied to join the Class of 2025 on 7,000+ campuses across 170 nations. 290+ campuses worldwide (less than 5%) were selected to host the 4,500+ Millennium Fellows.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT MICHELLE A. BALDERRAMA, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2025.
Harvard University | Massachusetts, United States | Advancing SDG 4, SDG 10 & UNAI 6
" My college access work has been largely done through conversation. Driving to small towns across Virginia and spreading word about fee waivers. Speaking at high schools and sharing my story. Sitting at a table and explaining financial aid to students who, like me, once thought the cost of college was too large to dream of pursuing it. I am so excited and grateful to be a part of the Millennium Fellowship because it will enable me to reach more students, in more places, all with the goal of advancing SDG 4. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: You Can College
You Can College is a how-to guide for college admissions designed specifically for first-generation, low-income high schoolers. It provides approachable guidance tailored to the first-gen experience, emphasizing things like fee waivers and financial aid, listing jobs as extracurriculars, and breaking down application components. In addition to a formal curriculum, I expanded to social media to create more casual and relatable content, from a student like the ones my project is made for. Through You Can College, I also provide free, virtual 1:1 advising sessions with students. These meetings can include but are not limited to essay revision, essay brainstorming, activities section writing, building school lists, finding scholarships, and talking about the college experience. Although initially Virginia focused, my program has expanded to 50 more students in 12 more states across the U.S., with my social media garnering engagement from 4,000 accounts. Every student I spoke to said they don't know where else they could have turned to for guidance.
About the Millennium Fellow
Michelle Balderrama is a senior at Harvard College studying Government and Neuroscience. She is a proud first-generation college student from Culpeper, Virginia. Michelle is passionate about expanding educational opportunity and addressing structural inequalities in rural and low-income communities. Her project, You Can College, aims to demystify the college application process for rural and first-generation students by offering tailored guidance and fostering the belief that higher education is for them. After graduation, Michelle plans to attend law school, where she will study constitutional and government law so that one day, she may help shape education policy.
