When asked, “how many of you think that you will definitely attend college?” all but two of the 27 Roseland University Prep ninth graders who visited campus on November 18 as part of the Discovery Day leadership service-learning class, raised their hands.
The other two raised their hands when asked, “how many of you think that you may attend college?”
No hands were raised when the group was asked, “how many of you think that college is not for you?”
Bruce Peterson’s UNIV 238 service-learning leadership class has spent the semester learning leadership theory. On November 18, the students had the chance to implement what they have learned.
Partnering with students in the ASI program JUMP (Join Us Making Progress), the student leaders created and implemented a program of icebreakers and a team campus-wide scavenger hunt, designed to "test" the RUP students on what they’d learned during the tour and student panel discussion led by Outreach that they’d had earlier in the day.
The day-long Discovery Day had three goals:
➢ Provide younger students with their first exposure to higher education
➢ Provide college students with a leadership opportunity
➢ Build and model collaboration between the leadership class, Outreach, the Center for Community Engagement, JUMP, Academic Affairs and Roseland University Prep
At a pizza lunch sponsored by Provost Ochoa, SSU students and RUP students bonded and shared about their experiences. The excitement and connections were palpable and as UNIV 238 sophomore leadership Hutchins major and Arts and Humanities representative on the A.S.I. Board Stephen Hammerle reflected,
"I had a great time working with my group and confidently can say that we all individually improved different aspects of our leadership skills." JUMP Study Buddies coordinator Jenna Durney, an undeclared sophomore, summarized her experience by saying,
“Talking with these students made me realize the potential within each Roseland Prep freshman. Each person I talked to had a talent that I felt would benefit the SSU campus," she said.
"These students made me excited about education and I hope that JUMP and SSU can create a lasting relationship in which we not only bring high school freshmen to our school, but college students to their school to volunteer. I foresee great things coming from this partnership in education. It can only grow from here."
There is evidence that children who come to a campus just once are far more likely to see higher education as an option for them and to attend college.
"As we embark on a campus-wide discussion of diversity, it is reasonable to look to our local community as recruitment opportunities for future Latino students, in particular," says Peterson.
In the spring of 08, Roseland University Prep (RUP) graduated its first class. Twenty-one of those graduates are enrolled at SSU this year.
By the end of the Discovery Day, when the RUP students were asked, "how many of you think you might come to SSU in 4 years?," nearly all raised their hands.
