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Help get at-risk kids on track for college
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | December 9, 2008
The goal of this course, and all the ideas on this blog is to find ways to help at risk kids stay in school. But a frequent question from students in the course is, WHAT NEXT? What happens to these kids after high school? For some, even those who are successful in high school, the idea of college is outside of their zone of comfort and familiarity.
With this question in mind, I found this article about a special life skills workshop being run by business school students in Tennessee (love that Google). College students are helping kids to learn about college, what it takes to get there, and what it can mean for the future. Its an inspiring idea - well worth sharing. Does anyone know about similar programs for Oregon kids?
Lipscomb students get at-risk kids on track for college
By JAIME SARRIO • November 10, 2008
Deon Brown is only 12, but he already has a pretty good idea of what he wants to do when he grows up. “I want to go to MTSU and be a third-grade teacher at Carter-Lawrence,” he said.
Deon, a sixth-grader at Rose Park Middle, has a long way to go before he gets into college, but thanks to some students at Lipscomb University, he’s getting a clearer picture of what it is going to take to get there.
Deon is one of about 25 Nashville students taking part in a special life skills workshop put on by Lipscomb’s business school students. The youth are learning how to apply to and finance college, how to pick a school and how to dress for interviews and other parts of college life. “The focus was on how to be prepared for college,” Deon said. “It’s a lot of work, and you’ve got to have good grades.”
Deon and others were picked to take part in the seminar because they attend Youth Life Learning Center, a faith-based after-school program for urban students. Lipscomb partnered with the organization to satisfy a new university-wide initiative that requires students to complete community service before they graduate.
Students work to better lives
Through the seminars, which took place during the last few weeks of October, Lipscomb students worked in teams to prepare four workshops. The Lipscomb students played charades with the students and conducted personality surveys to get a real feel for where they wanted to go in life.
“Having a group communicate with each other and work together, that was probably the biggest experience,” said Reid Mayo, a junior majoring in marketing and oral communication. “It wasn’t easy, but I enjoyed it and I think the kids enjoyed it, too.”
The sessions will wrap up with a final workshop Tuesday on dining etiquette and a fashion show featuring appropriate clothes for college and business life.
Many of the students that attend Youth Life come from poor neighborhoods and don’t have a lot of support at home. Though the organization is for kindergartners through 12th-graders, lead teacher Thomas Howard said middle and high school students participated in the Lipscomb workshop.
“A lot of their parents didn’t have the opportunity to go to college; they don’t know what it takes to get into college,” he said. “A lot of time the students say they want to do what their parents have done.”
Marquis Newhouse, 11, said he walked away from the seminar believing he should follow his dreams. He wants to animate cartoons, and now he knows his future might include stops at Nashville School of the Arts and Austin Peay State University.
“I learned to trust my instincts and always believe in what you can do,” Marquis said. “If you say you want to go to college, you should believe that.”
Contact Jaime Sarrio at 615-726-5964 or jsarrio@tennessean.com.
Topics: Getting kids to college, How to Help |
December 9th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
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