SAVING OUR YOUTH VA

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degrees in fields that require graduate level learning. There are many higher education programs, but they simply want to help students that have goals of continuing education after the completion of high school providing a secondary education. That’s wonderful, but our goal is to look for students that want to go a step higher and reach professional career levels in medicine, law, engineering, etc. that require hire than a secondary education.

 

Although this program is not limited to minorities, our main focus is minorities because there is a very disproportionate number of minorities that achieve graduate level degrees. Approximately 44% of the population of the United States of America is minorities, with 11% of those being African American. Yet, only 10% of all attorneys in the USA are minorities. Very disproportionately low numbers hold true in the medical and political fields as well. Minority students and at risk Caucasian students are far more likely to become nurses but not doctors, paralegals but not attorneys, etc.We achieve this goal through mentorships and financial aid coordinating.

 

Many students don’t achieve the goals they want, not because they are not intelligent enough to achieve those goals, but because they are not focused and don’t have the financial assistance they need. To help them focus on the goal, we set them up with mentors that are experts in their fields of interest. This helps to give them the motivation to do the work needed to reach their goals. But this helps in another way as well, because many times, life is not always what you know, but who you know.

 

 

Qualification for participants:

• Grades 9-12

• Interested in working towards degrees in law, medicine or in the political arena

• 2.5 GPA or better

• Decision will be made with the advice of the school guidance counselor

 

The program includes:

 

Parental Expectations: When a student enters the program, we will meet with their parents to explain the program so they are aware of what’s going on.

 

Mentorship:  The student will meet with an expert in the fields he or she wants to go into.  This will get them motivated to do the work needed to get there.  During the years the participant is in our program, we ask the mentor to do the following things when possible:

Allow shadowing; help with class work (after school tutoring when needed); Mocked college interviews; summer employment or possible volunteer time for high school credits.

 

Advanced Placement: The student will meet with our placement counselor.  Here they will discuss grades, set up tutoring when necessary; sign them up for SAT courses to help them get the best scores they can get; keep up the participant’s grades as they continue through the program and continue to help where needed; If we are working with a student in his/her freshman year, we will get them into college preparatory programs when available; extended assistance when needed.  For those who need it, especially those who have not taken the college preparatory programs, if they find themselves behind the other students when they go to college, our counselor will help by getting tutoring or other assistance for them.

 

College Entrance Assistance: The student will speak with our counselor to help them decide which colleges to apply to.  The applications normally cost between $100-$200 per college.  This is one of the costs we’re seeking to cover through government or private funding. Once they have decided on the colleges to apply to, which should be at least 10, the CEC will help with the application process starting with checking the dates their applications must be in and making sure they are all in on time.  This process should be complete in mid to end of junior year. As acceptances come in, the counselor will set up visits to the schools to help them make the decision on which school they will attend.  The colleges will most likely have their own tours set up, but if the participant has several choices they may want to go before the scheduled visits so that they can make a decision.

 

Financial Aid Coordination: As the student is accepted into colleges, he/she wills get a financial package for each college.  Some of the funds are the same for all colleges such as the Pell Grant, but others are available.  The Financial Aid Coordinator will help them complete the paperwork properly and get it submitted in time.

 

The goal is to keep them focused on their goal and show them that they can do it.  There are just too many students with economic and mental disadvantages that want it but don’t know how to get it….that’s why we’re here.