Opportunity Knocks-Mission Statement
The mission of Opportunity Knocks LLC is to find financial assistance
for students who wish to enroll in institutions of higher education.
We want to educate the community at large on the overall college
financial aid and admissions process. Opportunity Knocks LLC will
provide individualized investment plans to each client.
Company Summary
Opportunity Knocks LLC has been founded on the premise that there
are many scholarships that go unused. We have the resources to find
unique education finance opportunities to make college a reality.
Our passion is to make life easier and provide services that include
both researching and processing all the applications. Opportunity
Knocks LLC has chosen the Baltimore-Washington and surrounding areas
as it primary service region.
Opportunity Knocks is a Maryland LLC with a joint partnership between
Dana DeVance and Carla Morris.
Dana DeVance- MBA, PHR
In 2003, Dana began her goal of helping students and owning her own business. Prior to
departing corporate America in 2005 and focusing on her entrepreneurship goals, she did enjoy
a rewarding career in Human Resources and Operations where she worked in Healthcare, Logistics
and Retail Operations. She has over 15 years of Human Resources and management experience.
She also has a BA in Management from North Carolina State University and a MBA from
Pfeiffer University. She is the youngest of four, born in Washington, DC and raised
in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dana has also served as an adjunct professor at Fayetteville Technical Community College
(Fayetteville, NC) and on the Student Advisory Board for Guilford Technical Community College.
She experienced first hand the difficulties of finding aid for school and being misguided which
drove her to want to make a difference for other students. She has presented many workshops and
training sessions across the country and has always served as a mentor to youth. Her HR management
and training experiences are a true asset to Opportunity Knocks LLC. She has a true passion for
helping students succeed.
Dana is the founder and co-owner of Opportunity Knocks LLC. By day, she is a Human Resources
Consultant. Dana is involved in the community and currently serves on the board for Destined to
Speak Inc., a mentoring program for teen girls of Baltimore, Maryland. She is also an active member
of First Baptist Church of Glenarden. Professionally, she is a member of the Society for Human
Resource Management, West Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce, and holds lifetime memberships
in National Black MBA Association and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Dana enjoys traveling, watching NFL football, swimming, mentoring and helping students.
“My passion to support and foster scholarship is very important. It has been a blessing to
use my talents and skills to assist college bound students with meeting their goals.”
~Dana
Carla Y. Griffin - MA, MD TEACHER
CERT.
Carla is a former English teacher of Literature and Language for the Baltimore County Public School
System. With a childhood dream for teaching, she was attracted to the career instantly.
She assessed the alarming situation facing the plaguing number of students that (even in the
last years of general education) did not appreciate nor learned to manipulate the English language
effectively. At that time, it became crucial for her to teach what appeared to be a misled group of adolescence.
Carla has earned a BA in English with a concentration in Writing for Television from Morgan State
University. She has completed her MA in Information Design for Instruction from Towson State University.
Born in Jacksonville, Fla., she is the middle of five children raised in Lakewood, New Jersey.
In the four years as a teacher and private tutor, Carla studied students, their needs and completed
a course load to obtain Maryland State Teaching Certification. But among all, she became active in a high
school community filling in, where as it materialized, had been neglected for years. She developed a rapport
with the students and realized that these misunderstood children were in fact scholars. They desired and
deserved a change in the school environment that was forced upon them. She worked with a team to spearhead
the implementation of many programs for change. For the next few years, she was recognized for helping to
change the way the faculty, staff and students felt about their work and educational experience. Carla then
decided to use her passion to fuel the development of an organization designed to assist high school students
with the challenges that often stand between them and a college career~ Opportunity Knocks LLC.
Carla is co-owner and partner of Opportunity Knocks LLC. By day, she is a freelance technical writer
specializing in corporate documentation and research. She is a member of the Baltimore County Chapter
of Delta Sigma Theta Incorporated.
She enjoys reading, the theater, listening to jazz and playing
tennis.
“I stand firmly behind the principles on which Opportunity Knocks
was founded and I promise quality service and true opportunities.”
~Carla
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