2020 - It's a Wrap!
Cirkled In Scholarship Winners - Smart, Driven and Resilient
2020 – What a Year!
Unprecedented challenges in every sector of economy, unprecedented constraints in both home and work life, and unprecedented impacts to physical, mental and psychological health.
But also, a year with exceptional innovation especially in education and healthcare, excellent resilience on every human-being, and extraordinary empathy with outpour of help and support by people within their communities.
Looking back at 2020, we certainly have memories of tragedies along with the missed memories of graduations and prom nights. However, we also have memories of surprising ourselves with our strengths and adaptability. Hard times are testing times, that shape us as people, society, nation and even world.
We’d be remiss not to honor colleges, educators, students, and families that stepped up to the immense challenges the pandemic presented. The pure dedication everyone showed to education is inspiring.
“From parents who suddenly became teachers at the kitchen table, to educators who bounced between in-person and online classes, to students who displayed resilience at every bump in the road: We honor you. ”
Paul Romer, a Stanford economist once said – “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste”. We believe that the education sector used this crisis to be stronger than ever before.
Amidst a Pandemic – How Cirkled In Supported Education System
Right after COVID hit, we at Cirkled In quickly formulated a way to help students, colleges and universities by getting a pulse of impact of COVID on student’ higher education plans. We were one of the first few surveys conducted on a national level, taken by over 1,100 high school students, and published by major media outlets across country.
As the pandemic continued, we authored an article on the demise of SAT/ACT in higher ed that was published by Puget Sound Business Journal—a great resource for schools, families, and universities alike.
We knew our student population needed financial help, too. So, in addition to our quarterly scholarships of $2,500, we added COVID relief grant of $1,000. So far, we have given almost $35,000 and supported 15 students as they look past COVID and plan for their futures.
We Grew even in Difficult Year!
With most K-12 learning going online, the need to maintain students’ portfolio online became higher than ever. Hence, we saw a big increase in our student user sign ups with a 75% year-over-year growth – a remarkable achievement.
As SAT/ACT lists become obsolete and the higher education industry moves toward a holistic review of candidates, we also saw a spike in colleges and universities using Cirkled In to find the best-fit students for their campuses.
We are also excited to be selected as one of the 14 companies in University of Southern California accelerator. We formalized our multiple advisory boards for K-12, Higher Ed, and Corporate strategies. Our advisors include former President of Starbucks, former President of a public University, and many high school counselors who are our biggest evangelists.
You Asked, We Delivered
With the absence of all in-person recruiting events, colleges and universities pivoted to virtual events and we were right there to help connect families with universities. Right on the Student page, we added virtual events information from major colleges and universities.
We also added One-Click College Application feature enabling students to apply to various colleges with just one-click by auto filling colleges’ applications with their Cirkled In portfolio information. This enables colleges to increase their applicant pool and allows an easy, stress-free option for students.
We added College Compare functionality along with a brand-new website launch. With our latest enhancements, we have made Cirkled In ADA compliant as well.
Being Among the Best, Thanks to You!
We had many opportunities to tell Cirkled In’s story this year. Did you catch our panel on Journalistic Approach to Diversity, Inclusion and Equity for the Stevie Awards? Or you can check us out on the What Fuels You Podcast, where we talked about college admissions.
We are proud to say that our work allowed us to be placed in the “Elite200 companies” selected by GSV from all over the globe as the most innovative education companies. It's truly an honor to be one of the Elite200.
Lastly, as we closed out 2020, we were ecstatic to win 2nd place and the people’s choice award in the Women Founders Network national pitch competition. We also won Women Fast Pitch - Northwest regionals.
Interestingly, our CEO, Reetu Gupta also got included in few books and textbooks. Various authors reached out to add our story from different angels in their books. The most honorable was addition in a young kids’ reading book. That is making history!
We believe in higher education, educators, and students and our ingenuity, steadfastness, and ability to persevere and overcome all the obstacles that have been put in front of us, and yes, we will overcome COVID-19, too. Let’s all make it our best performing time and create history, whether we are confronted with challenges or forging new paths. We look forward to working with you as the education landscape continues to shift and we work as one to ensure families, colleges, educators, and students have all of the resources and support possible to be successful.
Let 2021 be our year.
To Your Success!
