Sorry to all of my readers as I seem to have taken a hiatus from posts for a while. Things got crazy in Omaha and all of a sudden it was winter break! Momentous occasions between my last post and today are:
Two of my best friends roadtripping it to Omaha to visit me
Going back to the Twin Cities for Thanksgiving
Hiring College Possible Omaha’s Executive Director
Visiting my grandparents in Phoenix
Seeing friends in Minneapolis over Christmas
Recruiting College Possible students
AND starting my first week of session!
This past Monday, January, 9, 2012 was my first official day of session in Omaha South Magnet High School. The weeks leading up to winter break were spent recruiting eligible students to participate in our program. To be completely honest, MOST students at my school qualify for College Possible as over 90% of the students in school are on free or reduced lunch. I had over 60 students apply to be in the program, but sadly only have spots for 40. It was hard to tell students that they aren’t in the program, as I can tell that they all need guidance in this college process. I had the unique experience in College Possible of actually being a part of the recruitment process for my own cohort. Normally, recruitment is done during the spring of students’ sophomore year so that they can start right away in their junior year. It made having to say no to some students even harder than normal.
The first week of session was awesome! So many of my students are dedicated to this program and see this as their opportunity to pave a path where their parents never had an opportunity. Every day I’ve been impressed by the amount of questions and interest all of my students expressed in college and what they can be doing right now to get there. It’s only January and I’ve already had multiple students ask questions about summer opportunities. I know that when I was a junior in high school, that was the last thing on my mind. It’s a true reflection of growing up in a privileged home where college was never an option, it was an expectation.
I’m stationed inside the South High counseling office and have a supportive community surrounding me. Each of the counselors have taken me under their wing to make sure that I stay up to date on what’s going on in the school and help me learn more about the background of my students. Working one on one with students has reinvigorated me to work my hardest to help them do well on their ACT. The past few months in Omaha have been rough as I wanted to be in my school with my students so much. The worst was knowing that they need and want our help, but not being able to access them.
Prior to this week, I’ve kept busy with my part-time job at First Lutheran Church working with the kids in my community. I help with Confirmation and Sunday School almost every week and LOVE IT!
I’ve been slowly exploring all of Omaha’s attractions here. Kelly and I finally went to the zoo yesterday, and yes, it was awesome. It was probably the best zoo I’ve ever been to, and I thought I’d been to some pretty good zoos before. We managed to take advantage of the free Community Day yesterday, which made it much more affordable to attend than normal. What a perfect Saturday venture!
Overall, it’s been a crazy busy week being back in Omaha from winter break but I’m loving every minute of it. I can foresee many struggles and challenges still ahead, but no one said starting a new site would be easy.
Watch for photos and other short updates on my work with my students!
