Abstract
The authors examined how high school students in author and university writing sessions at a university literacy festival learned how to use their voice to share their social and cultural experiences when constructing a college admission essay. This qualitative case study examined the essays from 132 high school students from Title 1 schools who attended interactive author and university writing center sessions at the literacy festival. Analysis using grounded theory and open coding revealed four themes, listed here in order of prominence: overcoming barriers, clubs and programs, cultural and ethnic identity, and supportive role models. Participants gained insight on discovering their unique qualities and meaningful stories throughout the writing process, and findings indicated that author and university writing sessions at the university literacy festival was an effective way to promote writing strategies for college entrance exams for high school students, especially to under-supported students.