My daughter is a college freshman. We spent a lot of time during her senior year in high school researching scholarships and filling out applications.

This spring, we’ve been working on scholarship season round 2: the sophomore year.

A couple of days ago, we learned my daughter won a scholarship hosted by a local civic club. I don’t know exactly what she wrote on the application paperwork; but I do remember that when she called the scholarship committee to inquire about the application, she made a good impression over the phone!

In any case, the scholarship committee wants to announce the award in The Monroe Evening News.

That’s where I stepped in and explained what she needed to do.

If you are a current college student like my daughter, you need to update your scholarship application and announcement packets every year.

When you are a senior in high school, it is customary to list everything you did during in high school years - whether it was school-related or not - on those applications. And the photo you’ll submit with the applications or press release should you win is most likely your senior yearbook photo.

That stuff isn’t relevant any more.

My daughter’s formal “senior” photo was taken in fall 2006. It’s two years old. I told her we need to take a new one. We’ll do that in a day or two.

I looked at the biography she put together and realized it focused on her high school accomplishments. It was the same material she wrote on her scholarship packets last year.

“That’s not what they want to hear,” I said. “Tell them what you are doing now.”

She didn’t think what she could list was much to brag about: Yearbook staff and Campus Girl Scouts. She was in choir during fall semester, but decided not to sign up for spring semester, so that didn’t get listed.

I asked her about the volunteer visits the yearbook staff did at a nursing home. She said she’d made only two visits this year, so didn’t want to list that.

But what about your efforts on the planning committee for the Chinese New Year production on campus? I told her to put that down. (The production got so much buzz on campus there were three photos and a nice write-up in the alumni magazine.)

She did.

We also included in the first paragraph what she is majoring in college.

For the second paragraph, I told her she should say she is a 2007 graduate of Monroe High School and list just two or three things she was involved in during her high school years. We settled on Girl Scout Gold Award and her visit to Hofu, Japan, with Monroe’s sister city program.

Last paragraph: list all of your parents, local ones first. (She lives with me and her stepfather in Monroe; her dad and stepmother live in Texas.)

You’re all set, I said.

That’s the three-paragraph resume she’ll send to the award committee so they can do the press release.

That’s also what she’ll use as an outline for future scholarship applications during the next year or so.

Keep in mind: as a freshman or sophomore in high school, you didn’t have much to list on your academic resume. It wasn’t until your senior year in high school where you could list really noteworthy accomplishments such as team captain or club president.

It’s the same thing in college.

Nobody expects a college freshman or sophomore to have a resume that compares to a college senior.

You still want to focus on what you are doing this year, on campus, when you prepare those resumes and applications.

And if you think it’s too light of a resume to brag about — then start planning ahead for the accomplishments and goals you will achieve as an upperclassman!