LOS ANGELES — For more than 25 years, the National College Resources Foundation (NCRF) has helped over 500,000 students get into college.

NCRF founder and CEO Dr. Theresa Price says their mission is to close the gap in achievement and economic disparities by providing opportunity to young students, like Briana Burries.

The 19-year-old came to the Black College Expo — hosted by NCRF — feeling anxious. It’s a new emotion Burries says she never struggled with before going to college in San Luis Obispo for a year.

“I mean, I’m excited,” she said, cautiously. “I’ve learned not to trust people too easily.”

The sophomore was wide-eyed by the sea of students who looked like her at the Black College Expo, where nearly 200 schools set up booths at the college recruitment fair.

She hasn’t had the best college experience thus far. Burries says the campus she chose in San Luis Obispo wasn’t very welcoming for people of color. She endured racism and bullying by her roommates that became so severe. She says she moved back home to San Bernardino after her freshman year. 

“I called my mom crying, and she brought me home,” she said.

Burries' grades had gone from As and Bs to Ds and Fs and she knew she needed to find a community. When she heard Historically Black Colleges and Universities were at this free expo offering acceptance on site, she picked out her best blazer.

“It was really perfect. I felt like it was a sign,” she said.

Price said more than $30 million in scholarships were given to tens of thousands of students at the Expo. The NCRF hosts the expo across the country throughout the year, offering seminars, workshops and other programming. The nonprofit’s deeper mission, Price said, is to address the achievement and workforce gap and economic disparities for underserved students. 

“So we’re trying to stop the poverty cycle and the way it starts is with education,” Price said. 

She noted that Black and Latino students face enormous systemic barriers in education and just 22% of students in low-income communities graduate college. 

The goal is to set them up for success and even the playing field among their peers.

“Where do you want to transfer to?” Price asked Burries.

“I was thinking about Texas Southern,” Burries answered.

Price says removing those barriers is as simple as cutting the red tape and connecting these students directly to the resources they need to succeed. 

She called over TSU’s Assistant VP for student enrollment success, and he accepted Burries and gave her a scholarship after one look at her transcripts — on the spot.

Burries said she was speechless: “I don’t know. It’s just so surreal!”

She walked in feeling the pressure of paying her own way through college, but left feeling supported and excited about her future.

The National College Resources Foundation hosts free college expos across the nation. For more information or to find one near you, click here.