Community conversations are workshops offered after school hours that invite the participation of families in learning, reflecting, and taking action towards their post-secondary goals. Our workshops are intended to be completely malleable to the community in which they are being implemented. We work closely with the schools counseling department to ensure the workshops taught are addressing the needs of students.
Component One: Community Conversations
Example Workshops:
College Application and Affordability
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Designed to help students approaching college understand the college application process, essay writing, and various pathways of affordability.
Understanding Career Outlooks
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A workshop that aims to give students and families up to date realistic outlooks for job opportunities, cost of education, and lifestyle requirements for various career fields.
High School Preparation/Orientation
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This course is designed to prepare students and families for the expectations they will encounter in high school as well as early preparation they can do to prepare for post-secondary life.
Managing the Challenges of Higher Ed.
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For students entering or in their freshman year of college. A workshop sharing various strategies for the increased responsibility that comes with higher education.
Pathways in practice take the form of scheduled site visits to businesses and college campuses, helping students envision themselves in an array of fields. We analyze surveys from students to identify fields of interest as well as fields they are lacking an awareness of. Our goal with these experiences is to broaden student awareness with a focus on opening pathways, not closing them.
Component Two: Pathways in Practice
Types of Experiences:
Trade/College/University Visit
Worksite/Office Visit
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Our experiences are designed with intention to ensure meaningful learning. We collaborate closely with the participating school/business to ensure students participate in activities, hear from diverse speakers, and envision themselves in the specific field.
Pathway Mentorships connect students with career professionals, meeting once a month to discuss post-secondary plans, internship opportunities, and academic advice. Mentor-student pairs are organized according to student interest.
Component Three: Pathway Mentorship
What does a pathway mentorship entail?
FAQ’s
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Mentors are trained to avoid deficit language, guide session conversations, and complete actionable steps. All mentors must pass a background check and are interviewed by our staff.
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This is largely up to the student. However, our mentors are provided with guides to stimulate the conversation as well as complete actionable steps each session (completing FASFA, working on essays, etc.).
Our mentors complete a form detailing their mentoring sessions for accountability as well as self reflection.
