Youth Leadership: College Access
Helping Participants Achieve their Dreams
College Access staff work to accomplish the essential task of preparing immigrant, refugee, and low-income youth and adults for post-secondary education through individual sessions, group presentations, and experiential learning. Addressing the education disparity that exists among minority groups, the program provides individually tailored services to primarily first-generation college attendees.
We strive to uncover and cultivate each participant’s strengths and interests, in preparation for future opportunities, weaving information about post-secondary education through cooperative Neighborhood House programs.
Core program components include:
- Academic Preparation – Ensure young people are successfully attending school and provide tutoring and homework help after school.
- Selection & Application to Post-Secondary Schools – Provide awareness and exposure to post-secondary education options, through college tours, school identification, and help with admissions applications.
- Financial Aid Knowledge – Identification and application for individually focused scholarship opportunities, FAFSA form completion, and more.
- Career Exploration – Explore career interests through career assessment tests and presentations by subject-matter experts.
Many College Access programs focus solely on youth, whereas Neighborhood House uniquely offers post-secondary education resources and information to adults.
Additionally, if immigrant and refugee adults, including the parents and caregivers of our youth participants, are interested in obtaining support to “translate” their degree from another country — so that it is recognized in the United States — we are prepared to help.
Success Story
Neighborhood House Goes to College:
Exploring the Possibilities on Campus Tours
At Neighborhood House, we pride ourselves on listening to our participants to gauge interest on various learning topics and to help guide the direction of education initiatives. This year, a group of students approached Tou Yang, Youth Leadership Specialist, with an interest in visiting colleges. He connected with Jenny Javitch and Maypahou Ly, College Access Program staff, to discuss college campus tours for students in grades 8 – 12. When Jenny and I spoke about the experience, she said, “It really shows their interest in taking advantage of the kinds of opportunities Neighborhood House is prepared to give.”
College Access offers a glimpse at the realities of college life. College tours help immigrants, refugees and low-income individuals – particularly communities of color – accomplish the work of preparing for post-secondary education opportunities and providing resources to support them in the educational search process. “Working with both youth and adults is something that sets us apart from other programs,” Jenny explained. “We help identify a college that is the best overall fit for any student at any point in their academic career, not just financially but also academically and socially.” Which is why coordinating a college campus tour for Neighborhood House students is more than just placing a phone call to a college advisor.
At the University of Minnesota, for example, participants met with presenters from the Admissions Office and a variety of student organizations, in an effort for Neighborhood House students to see a reflection of their own diversity. The Hmong Minnesota Student association, the Black Student Union, La Raza (a Chicano and Latino community organization) and Voices merging (a multi-cultural student-based artist coalition), engaged the youth in conversation about what their futures could look like by joining any one of these organizations while attending college. “When the students see others who look like them and come from their own communities, they feel like they can belong. That’s a powerful thing for our youth to experience,” noted Jenny, who looks forward to planning more college tours with her team. They are making direct impact in students’ lives.
One particular student had been working with College Access for several months to prepare for college entry and during a tour to Dunwoody College of Technology, he was able to submit his application, waiving the $50 fee. An application fee can be enough to prevent a student from applying to college, if they don’t have the money and we can help students figure out ways to financially afford the first step, like an application fee. At Dunwoody, for example, the application fee is waived when students apply at an open house, so College Access staff made sure one of their campus tours coordinated with the date of an open house and this student was able to apply for free. Now, everyone is excited to hear that he has been accepted and begin studying next semester.
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