KIDS 2 COLLEGE

Class of 2016 sample the college experience

Milstead Middle School sixth graders DeNilson Zetino and Erik Granados freeze leaves with liquid nitrogen during their visit to UHCL as part of the Kids2College program.

Kelly Rathbun

The Signal Staff

Franklin D. Roosevelt could have had the Kids2College program in mind when he stated, “We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”

In keeping with this same idea, the Kids2College belief is that higher education is something you can achieve if you plan ahead.  Planning ahead is just what UHCL did when it joined in and hosted the Kids2College event Feb. 10-11, welcoming ­approximately 822 sixth graders from Earnesteen Milstead and Carter Lomax Middle Schools from Pasadena, TX.

Students were not only provided an opportunity to visit and tour the campus to get a feel for college life, but they also participated in small group lectures given by representatives for the Schools of Business, Education, Human Sciences and Humanities, and Science and Computer Engineering before being treated to lunch in Atrium II.

“This is the first time my school has participated in the Kids2College program,” said Lakiesha Talbert, counselor at Milstead Middle School. “The program is phenomenal. It gives students the opportunity to explore the possibilities for their academic and professional future. The field trip to UHCL gave students a tangible learning experience, which allowed them to interact with university professionals.”

Alvin Johnson, Jr., coordinator, academic transfer advising, led the event that brought the sixth-grade middle school children to campus.

“I was thrilled that all of the schools at UHCL were able and willing to participate,” Johnson said. “The more exposure to different degrees and different professions, gives students more options to explore for possible majors in college and careers to pursue.

Kids2College program is funded by a partnership of the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships and the Sallie Mae Fund. A course of six in-classroom sessions were used to aid sixth graders in learning about different careers and the importance of being college ready.

The curriculum is provided free of charge to low-income or minority middle school students to assist in facilitating the program in the classroom. Students conclude the program with a visit to a local university.

The Institute for Higher Education Policy reports that nine out of 10 middle school parents expect their children to attend college and earn a degree, but only half have started planning and nearly two-thirds have not started saving.

These studies have also shown that sixth graders are at a critical point in their education to begin preparing them for college before they allow social influences to lead them off the path.

The partnerships also feel that sixth graders are still old enough to understand that visiting a college campus is a “big deal” and can be more readily influenced by the program offered to them.

“The seminar hosted by the School of Science stood out most in my mind and in the minds of many of the students,“ Talbert said.  “The students got an opportunity to conduct an experiment with nitrogen gas and a leaf.  They are still talking about it.”

During this hands-on demonstration presented by Lory Santiago-Vasquez, assistant professor of biology from the School of Science and Computer Engineering, Milstead students DeNilson Zetino and Erik Granados were able to use liquid nitrogen to freeze plant leaves.

“I learned that liquid nitrogen can burn you and it is cold,” Granados said. “I want to attend UHCL when I get big.”

Kids2College has been reaching out to sixth-grade students since 1992.  More than 70,000 students have participated the program and it has a proven record of increasing students’ expectations of going to college and encouraging students to stay on a college track.

“It is never too early to start planning for college,” DeNilson said.

For more information about the Kids2College program, visit www.thesalliemaefund.org.