January '09
This month’s greatest success was our trip to Eckerd College. The idea behind the trip was to expose our high school clients to the opportunities that lay ahead. A large number of children in our program do not dare to dream about going to college because they know that higher education in the US costs a lot of money and that their parents get paid minimal wage. The group of clients we invited to this trip consisted of only high school students. They all seemed amused with the college life, especially campus life. Our presenter and tour guide was a former Eckerd student who spiced up the tour with her memories of campus life and academics. The clients were impressed with overseas classes, dorms, college organizations, and they had a lot of questions regarding eligibility guidelines to enroll in the college.
The entire group concluded that they will study harder to make it to college and try to keep their GPA over 3.0. One client told me that he understands now why I was pushing him to regularly attend all his classes and make good grades. It is important to expose young people to different perspectives and different ideas so that when the time comes for them to make important choices about their future those choices turn out to be wise.
-Alen Janjus
