I had a most pleasant surprise waiting for me when I walked into Freedom Hall on the Widener campus last night.
We were there to do our Wednesday night 'Live From the Newsroom' show. Last night we focused on a really great program that's been developed to help kids and families deal with the epic challenge of getting into - and paying for - college.
The College Access Center is located at Widener and is the result of a consortium of some of the best local minds in the education biz from Widener, Swarthmore, Neumann, DCCC, Cheyney and Penn State Brandywine.
My surprise was two of the young students who are taking advantage of the programs offered by the College Access Center.
I had already met Tamira Sharrod and Rickwane Dunn. They are both seniors at Drexel Neumann Academy. I visited there last week to speak to the classes for Catholic Schools Week.
Tamira plans to attend the University of Scranton and focus on health administration. Rickwane is headed for West Chester University and will be taking up pre-med. We also were joined by Jamie McDowell, a senior at the STEM Academy in Chester Upland. She will be attending Hampton University in Virginia in the fall, majoring in Sociology/Communications.
I see big things in the future from all these kids. And a big part of that future is being built by the College Access Center.
Executive Director Julani Ghana gave an overview of the services offered and urged kids and their families from all across Delaware County to take advantage of this huge resource that can help with one of life's more bewildering topics, navigating the college selection process.
Ghana notes that after starting six years ago, the College Access Center is now helping 4,000 students a year with everything from preparing for the SATs with a tutoring and prep program, to applying to colleges, to rooting out financial aid.
It's something every kid should take advantage of here in Delaware County.
If you missed the show, you can catch the replay here.
Comments