Why College Tours?

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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StreetLeaders

StreetLeader’s College Prep Training

grow their bodies and minds, while learning to find something to be good at that serves others well. In short, college can serve them well given the chance.

I am simply stating that it’s imperative our StreetLeaders understand that they are not limited to trade school or community college; they have other options. Because we want to set our StreetLeaders up to pursue their career goals and develop them as leaders, we are constantly performing grade and attendance checks, providing one-on-one tutoring, making SAT and ACT prep available (in some cases signing them up for the test), attending college seminars, helping complete FAFSA applications, assisting with scholarship research, instituting study hall, and occasionally visiting with their high school counselors. We want to ensure that we have crossed every “T”, and dotted every “I” before they graduate from high school and the StreetLeader program.

We use the Jobs for Life training resource for equipping our StreetLeaders for the future. This is how the program has been described, “This is a training committed to prepare men and women for meaningful work through honest

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relationships, mentoring, work force development training, and ongoing community support.” Through this curriculum, I have witnessed some of our StreetLeaders recognize their roadblocks, create road maps to success, narrow career choices, master their strengths and values, grow professionally and develop their faith in God.

To ensure that our students are financially literate, they go through the Faith and Finance course to learn about savings, mortgages, assets and liabilities, investments, credit scores etc. We have also added a College Prep seminar where we talk about how to get prepared for college in its entirety. Honestly, as the StreetLeader Coordinator, I have learned a lot about leadership and the needs of our young adults in the community. Nothing that I’ve learned could have happened had it not been for the opportunity to build positive relationships or to “do life” with our StreetLeaders. The joy that I get from seeing their smiles during college visits, or the fun and excitement during “Jobs for Life” training, nor the sealed graduation invitations mailed to my address could override

Crossover Community Impact

the comfort and satisfaction I get from leading these young men and women into their purpose.

Jeremiah 29:11 states that “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” It is my hope that God leads our StreetLeaders into greatness in love, grace, and spiritual maturity as they continue on the path of righteousness and crossing over from death to life for His glory and their good.

Jeremy Williams is the StreetLeader Coordinator and CBC Student Ministries Coordinator for Crossover Community Impact & Crossover Bible Church. He was born and raised in north Tulsa Oklahoma where resides with his awesome wife Brittany and their four children. Their passion and ministry is to continue Gods work in building and encouraging youth in Christ Jesus, and restoring our community through reconciliation, love and justice.

If you would like to learn more about the StreetLeader Program, please go to http:// crossoverimpact.org/youth-jobs.