Listen: Last day! On Day 50 of 50 in Meet The Need, we end on a great note for the campaign, looking forward with Admission Possible. Serving low income high school and college students, Admission Possible partners directly with low income high schools in the Milwaukee area, providing Americorps members who run college prep after school programs. Then, as their students graduate and being their college career, they provide continuing support during this transition process.
-When Admission Possible started in Milwaukee 3 years ago, they had 60 students in 3 high schools -- this year, they have 245 students in 7 high schools and 50 college students at 14 campuses across the state:
-There's plenty of competition for a high school students time after school -- sports, friends, relationships, school activities, or just doing plain nothing (a pretty appealing option for a lot of teenagers). So, I asked the folks from Admission Possible what kinds of students are drawn to study for the ACT after school:
-Even when a student comes to Admission Possible, pressure from their peers might pull them away from the program. Kate shares the story of a young man who hid his books under a basketball in his gym bag:
-In a handful of interviews throughout Meet The Need, folks have brought up the "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" metaphor. The idea that someone in poverty or low income community can just try harder and solve their problems. And every time this idea came up, it was maligned for being too simple -- some folks don't have boots to begin with or need to be taught slowly how to stand again. The idea came up with Admission Possible, and I decided to challenge them to add some nuance to the metaphor -- if there was an account of bootstraps that could be helpful for framing the conversations about opportunity, what would it look like?
-Admission Possible's work is only made possible by Americorps volunteers -- Kevin, a second year Americorps volunteer, shares some of his motivations and experiences:
This year, we ask you to adopt one or two organizations that connect with you. Want to get involved with Admission Possible? Donate, volunteer, or check out their work yourself. And you can start with their website.