Student Services

Congressional Youth Advisory Council

Congressman Pete Olson invites all high school juniors and seniors in the 22nd District of Texas to apply to participate in the Congressional Youth Advisory Council. Through this Council, the Congressman hopes to gain insight from students around TX-22 and encourages them to work hard and accomplish their academic goals. The Council meets four times within the school year and includes a roundtable discussion on current events, as well as learning the pivotal role of lawmakers, experts and citizens in a democracy. These high-achieving students will be considered Ambassadors for Congressman Olson and will be asked to provide feedback on legislation working its way through Congress. To be considered, the completed application must be sumbitted to our Pearland or Sugarland offices no later than May 27th. Electronic submissions are preferred

CYAC Application 2016-17
Consent to Photograph Form
CYAC Info Sheet 2016-17

2015-2016 CYAC Participants:

Brazoria County
Dawson High School: Marshall Foster, Emily Guenther, Jessica Huang, Claire Jeffress, Phillip Nguyen, Payton Sprague, and Robert Ward

Manvel High School: Rebeca Chacko, Bushra Hamid, Paola Obispo, and Logan Tonini

Pearland High School: Grant Dentry, Jordyn Groover, Jillian Saboe, and Rida Sarwar

Fort Bend County
Clements High School: Nandan Marwaha, Bianca Navia, Weston James Shores, Eajer Toh, and Ingrid Wu

Dulles High School: Kathryn Carrabine and Rahul Nagvekar

Foster High School: Thomas Kuykendall III

George Ranch High School: Alesondra Cruz, Kyle Curtis, Ryan Harris, and Cameron Lavine

Homeschooled: Melissa Lee (Sugar Land)

Kempner High School: Ann Johnson

Needville High School: Kaysie Faas and Caleb Leachman

Ridge Point High School: Vanessa Liu, Taylor McKeown, and Ann Marie Ramas

Seven Lakes High School: Smriti Ahuja, Zachary Berry, Connor Cerda, Kaitlin Foster, Jonathan Frost, Saku Gopinath, Harrison Jenkins, Cameron Kallina, Alexa Keller, and Pranay Tamminayana

St. Agnes Academy: Jordyn Weber (Sugar Land)

Tompkins High School: Conor Devlin

Harris County
Clear Springs High School: Lauren Grover, Emily Jue, Arjun Luthra, and Alexis McNeilly

Financial Aid for Students

This PDF, prepared by the Congressional Research Service for Members of Congress, guides students through the process of locating and applying for financial aid. [Updated September 2013]

Financial Aid Information Packet.pdf

The basics: getting started

Start gathering information early.

Free information is readily available from:
High school counselors
College and career school financial aid offices (where you plan to attend)
Local and college libraries
U.S. Department of Education Web page
Other Internet sites (search terms student financial aid OR assistance)

Ask questions: counselors may know if you have exceptional circumstances that affect your eligibility.

Be organized: use calendars to keep on track.

Keep copies of all forms and correspondence: you must reapply for aid each year.

Parents of students: save money long before your child attends college.

College Savings Plan Network (state "Section 529" plans)
FinAid: for Parents
Tax incentives for higher education expenses

Good overviews:

Cash for College
FinAid: The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid
Financial Aid: You Can Afford It
Looking for Student Aid
Mapping Your Future
Paying for College

Beware of scholarship scams -- don't pay for free information!

Department of Education
Federal Trade Commission