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LAPLACE — Over the past six years, One Shot Education founder Sabrina Lewis has helped countless students transition from high school to college and the workforce. With a new office location at 429 W. Airline Highway Ste. Q in LaPlace, Lewis is opening doors of opportunity to River Parishes youth.

One Shot Education specializes in individualized tutoring sessions, standardized test preparation, and a thorough college admissions program that helps students gain admission to the school that best aligns with their future goals. Services are offered in person and virtually for students in third grade through college.

“What makes it most rewarding to me is when I see students getting into the school of their choice, I also see the parents understanding that it is within reach,” Lewis said. “It’s one thing to get into the school, but it’s another thing to have to pay for it. When students get scholarships, parents are able to support the student without the worry of financial strain.”

While Lewis has worked with students from all socioeconomic backgrounds, she has a special place in her heart for disadvantaged youth. Lewis grew up in the housing projects in Boutte before moving into the foster care system in St. John Parish. She forged a path to success through education despite the cards she was dealt in her early life.

After becoming salutatorian of West St. John’s 1993 graduating class and obtaining an undergraduate degree in biochemistry at Xavier, Lewis secured a master’s in chemistry and an education specialist in curriculum and instruction from LSU. She spent the next 20+ years in the chemical industry, also serving as an adjunct chemistry instructor at our Lady of the Lake College.

The inspiration behind One Shot Education came about in 2014 as she worked with her daughter and several of her friends to prepare them for standardized ACT and SAT testing. From there, she began to write her own manual for test preparation. She continued developing the manual over the next three years while researching the ins and outs of college admissions. The end result was a full-service college readiness program.

One Shot Education opened in 2017 with a home-based office that later moved to a physical location in Prairieville.

Benjamin Bell, former executive director of the St. Charles Parish Housing Authority, became a supporter of One Shot Education after a back to school event in 2017 where he observed a positive attitude and commitment to the youth among the volunteers.

“They had a professional approach that also allowed them to seem like family to our youth. It was refreshing and a ‘stereotype breaker’,” Bell said. “We all saw that when given ‘choice’ the youth chose learning and being amazed rather than music and play, which was also present.”

When the pandemic shut down face-to-face services, Lewis continued supporting students across Louisiana through virtual services. The loosening of COVID-19 restrictions allowed Lewis to look at her client base and the area of greatest need.

“I looked at the people who support me the most, and the River Parishes topped that list. I wanted to be able to bring more resources to those students,” Lewis said. “In the River Parishes, we see a lot of students struggling with math, and we see a lot of students struggling with standardized test preparation, specifically the ACT.”

With a strong, educated team well-versed in science, Lewis hopes to bring STEM camps to the area to help students prepare for industrial careers.

When it’s time to begin the college admissions process, Lewis helps students select schools that best fit them by examining location, demographics, class-size, student teacher ratios and majors. One Shot Education also assists students with the application process, from essays to applying for external scholarships.

“At the end, we look at the best option for obtaining a degree with none or very little debt,” Lewis said. “These are things that the counselors at school likely do not have time to do for every individual student.”

Services at the LaPlace office are by appointment only. For more information about One Shot Education, visit my-1-shot.com or call 985-287-2139.