As the firstborn “guinea pig” of the family, Marilynn Song jump-started the learning curve of scholarship fundraising for the Wilson clan. She was homeschooled until she attended Woodinville High School, and upon graduation attended Seattle Pacific University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a Music Minor. Though we didn’t know about all the opportunities available back then, and it took some trial and error, this “guinea pig” was still able to raise over $90,000 in scholarships and grants. The unique GoToCollegeFree approach of taking a strong and deliberate business approach to “self-development”, “self-marketing”, “self-selling” and “self-financing” toward scholarships and grants, initially emerged from Marilynn Song’s experience, helping to form the methods and techniques GTCF teaches today. Her efforts resulted in a “nearly free” college attendance at the most expensive private university in Washington State. At GoToCollegeFree Workshops, Marilynn Song often speaks through the internet to attending students, sharing her experiences, what worked, what didn’t, how to keep the right attitude, etc. while fishing for scholarship funds. As a GTCF featured speaker, she enjoys the opportunity to engage prospective students with her testimony, challenging them that, they too, can raise needed funds to achieve a college education. She reviews her own need for commitment to walk forward with persistence, patience, vision, study skill and confidence as she walked out her own collegiate journey and scholarship search.

In her early years, Marilynn Song served as the lead musician in the Wilson Family Band (“2Plus6”), leading her parents and siblings in instrumental and vocal arrangements of a diverse repertoire of music, as well as accompanying with piano, guitar and vocals (She was once a featured pianist backed by the Tacoma Youth Symphony…so her keyboard became a natural backbone of the group). Before and during college, she wrote lyrics, arranged and recorded her music and published two CDs of original songs while also helping to pay her way through college as a piano instructor. Her interest in communications emerged from a passion for writing and speaking – talents she now employs blogging geared toward young wives and mothers. She is now a married, stay-at-home mom with five children and plans to return to college (like her mother) after her children are raised–while AGAIN pursuing MORE scholarships.  She also serves occasionally as an accompanist and periodically leads worship at church. Here’s a picture of ONLY FOUR of her children just prior to arrival of number 5 — another girl!