Jim Clark, President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, meets with a young Metro Atlanta Club member
“We have emphasis on making sure that we build a diverse workforce of the future—and obviously that starts today. We can’t wait.”
32
December 2013
college students. The organization has developed specific programs, such as minority-male mentoring and Latino outreach, but developing collaborations in higher education is also a vital component in achieving a level playing field for college access and success, Clark says. “We need to be more vigilant at seeking out partnerships with universities and colleges to benefit youth that otherwise wouldn’t have this opportunity,” Clark says. “And we need to help universities and employers increase their diversity and have Boys & Girls Club members and alumni be part of that work population.” Creating those partnerships also serves to provide a seamless transition from Boys & Girls Clubs to high school graduation to higher education, he says. “To that end, we’ve developed relationships with colleges and universities to link and collaborate on helping kids coming from homes where there’s no tradition of higher education, where there’s no opportunity for higher education. Linking with universities and colleges helps to overcome these obstacles that for many others are second nature, such as college applications, references, tuition assistance, grants, and scholarships. All
of these seem like foreign languages to kids that don’t experience or have exposure to them,” Clark says. The organization has rolled out new pre-college access programs in recent years, with more to come, Clark says. Three major programs include Diplomas to Degrees (or D2D), Be Ready, and Be Great: Graduate. In addition to the fact that Club alumni have reported graduating from high school at higher rates than their peer populations, Clark says the programs have proven successful in regard to college enrollment. “We see it in our Youth of the Year program. Our finalists this year are going to Harvard, Stanford, Penn State, UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, Michigan, Louisville, and the University of Arizona—so we know that our strategy works. It’s a matter of creating a more solidified intentional path so kids can be successful,” he says. New partnerships with universities and colleges are forming at a fast pace across the country, he says. BGCA Partnership with Marquette University The partnership between Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., and Boys & Girls Clubs of America has evolved over the past 15 years and is still evolving, says Anne Deahl, associate vice provost for academic support programs and retention. The University has become more active in several areas, not just funding scholarships, she says. “Given the disparity in collegegoing rates for students of certain socio-economic status and race— coupled with the fact that the national population is changing, and that the majority student population is going to shrink while the African American and Latino population is growing—how do we ensure underrepresented populations get to college?” Deahl asks. One Marquette initiative that supports the partnership with BGCA, the Marquette Urban Scholars Program, offers wraparound support for students during the entire four-year college experience; it also