Why College Tours?
This is a training Program committed to prepare men and women for meaningful work through honest relationships, mentoring, work force development training, and ongoing community support.
by Jeremy Williams
I
kept trying to make sense of a phenomenon I saw but didn’t understand--a StreetLeader’s decision in choosing a local two-year college without even considering a four-year college or university. Was it purely financial? Was it the convenience of “school” being less than 15 minutes away from home as opposed to across the country? Could it be the dreaded idea of losing touch with friends, family, or a “sweetheart” back home while away? I have wrestled with these and other questions during my time as the StreetLeader Coordinator since 2014. I researched answers to these questions when I was trying to discern why students were choosing to attend Tulsa Community College in such high numbers (if they did decide to attend college at all). Though all these concerns were valid, they weren’t the determining factor when making this important decision. The biggest reason they did not pursue a four-year college or university turned out to be a lack of exposure to the many ways colleges make themselves accessible, and the lack of understanding the advantages a four-year university education can create. Although for some, college readiness, maturity, G.PA. and/ or SAT/ACT scores were significant concerns, most simply believed college was not an option. Such an education was seen as totally out of reach. This finding is what led to the conclusion that exposure might help change this perception. So, we started to schedule college tours! We scheduled a total of 9 tours in our first year, and required all StreetLeaders (despite his or her age) to attend a minimum of five of the tours. The immediate response after the first tour was fascinating! Shortly after being exposed to what is possible
through a college education, the students started to see themselves in college. To hear our StreetLeaders imagine out loud attending a particular school and rooming together in dorms was stunning! They went from never considering college, to looking forward to its unique benefits. College starts to mature students the moment one sets foot on campus. One must adapt to adult living, such as the expectation to maintain a home, food, laundry, etc. One must keep a schedule, set achievable goals and study, while managing a social life, healthy personal habits and the expansion of one’s mind. College establishes in them the ability to learn how to learn, work hard at learning,
Crossover Community Impact
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