Tretel's Story:

A Project Discovery Student

Tretel Ingram grew up as one of three children in a single-parent home in Fredericksburg, a small city in Northern Virginia. His mother always hoped her children would be able to attend college—she hadn’t had the opportunity herself—but she knew it would be a tough task financially.


Thanks to the support he received from Project Discovery, Tretel recently moved into his dorm and started his freshman year at North Carolina AT&T State University. He is the first person in his family to go to college.

Project Discovery put me on the right path.

I was in 7th grade when I was first introduced to Project Discovery. It was lunchtime and there was a representative from Project Discovery handing out candy and talking to kids about college and college access. Growing up, my mom always stressed importance of working hard and going to college but I wasn’t sure it would ever be possible for me. After talking to the representative, I decided the program was worth a shot and I took the paperwork home to my mom that night. She signed me up and made sure I was at every meeting from then on.


Along the way I have met many new people and friends, some that have come and gone and others that stayed, a few are even going to the same college as me. Through our experiences at Project Discovery, we developed a close bond and keep in contact even now. Project Discovery showed me how to get past all my fears and barriers in order to be able to attend college. If I wasn’t in Project Discovery I would have felt like college was impossible for me.

I gained the confidence that I needed to try.

By participating in Project Discovery I learned so many things. They offered a lot of different workshops, took us on college tours, and even gave us access to SAT fee waivers. What surprised me most about working with Project Discovery was how easy it is to go to college, even if you don’t have a lot of income. They taught me about various methods of grants, loans, and financial aid. They even took me on multiple tours to North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, North Carolina. I fell in love with the campus and the school.

Becoming a part of something bigger.

Project Discovery gives kids the tools and knowledge to go college, it empowers us. The knowledge that we gain is helpful to us, and then we are able to pass that knowledge on to others.


For anyone interested in volunteering their time or donating funds to help support Project Discovery, I would say ‘Go for it!’ When you invest in Project Discovery you see nothing but positive returns come from it. Even if we don’t end up going to college, Project Discovery offers workshops like resume building that are helpful in getting a job. Everyone benefits from the experience we get in Project Discovery.


For more information on Project Discovery, click here.

"By participating in Project Discovery, I learned so many things. The program offered a lot of different workshops, all of them beneficial, including college tours and access to SAT fee waivers."

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