Higher Hopes

January 7, 2008, Tufts University Website - By Georgiana Cohen

For some high school students, attending college doesn't seem like an option. But a group of determined Tufts graduates is trying to change that perception.
When Denise Wiseman came to Tufts from Jefferson City, Mo., she knew she was setting out on a different path from a lot of her high school friends. Many of them, she says, did not go to college and are currently supporting themselves-and sometimes their families-by working low-income jobs.

"I attribute me not being in a similar situation to having continued my education," says the 2007 Tufts graduate. Now, Wiseman is helping local high school students who may think of college as an impossible goal realize that it is, in fact, within their reach

Wiseman is one of four Tufts graduates who are working full time for the College Advising Corps (CAC), a national initiative headed in Massachusetts by the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service and Massachusetts Campus Compact (MACC), a statewide collegiate civic engagement nonprofit hosted on the Tufts campus since 1995.

The program seeks to increase college enrollment rates for low-income high school students while facilitating partnerships between high schools and college campuses that support college access efforts. The Corps is funded largely by a $1 million, four-year grant from the Jack Kent Cooke foundation, with a 75 percent match obligation from Tisch College and MACC. Tufts was one of more than 100 schools that applied for the grant, and one of only 10 to receive it.

Current match funds come in the form of a AmeriCorps Education Award, which the advisors can use towards school loans or post-graduate studies. Each advisor is enrolled in MACC's AmeriCorps "Leaders in Service" program, and they receive the Education Award upon completion of their service.

Tufts seniors are invited to apply for positions in the corps, where they are assigned to work with a high school and a college in Massachusetts.

"Two things I'm very interested in are public service and youth attaining education," says Wiseman. "This was a great intersection of the two."

This is a pilot year for the grant, with high schools and partner colleges in four Massachusetts communities participating: East Boston High and Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown; Drury High and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) in North Adams; Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School and UMass-Dartmouth; and Springfield High School of Science & Technology and American International College. The goal is to ultimately involve 15 high schools in the next three years.

Thirteen Tufts students applied for 10-month positions at locations around the state. The four corps members were chosen based on their passion for working on community partnerships, says program coordinator Andrew Cahill.


"This ethic of service is imbued across the spectrum [at Tufts]," he says. "There are a lot of students who, regardless of academic interest, have a personal investment in community work and civic engagement."

Corps members are placed in host schools and spend most of their time doing one-on-one college advising to low-income students from underrepresented populations. Wiseman and her counterparts talk to the students about applications, essays, financial aid, the SAT and other aspects of the college application process. The corps members work closely with the guidance counselors at each school to provide high school students with resources to make an informed decision about their future after graduation.

"In each site, it's been a learning process," says Cahill. "Our goal is to figure out how this program best functions in each high school."
The rest of the corps advisors' time is dedicated to building partnerships between the college, the high school and the community so that the program will be sustainable after beyond the grant.

Kathy Morgan, a guidance counselor at Drury High where Wiseman is based, says that the Tufts graduate has been able to bring together students of different ages and their parents to think about college. She cites an event Wiseman organized at Massachusetts College of the Liberal Arts, where students and parents attended a barbecue and talks from professors, city officials and students, including a Drury High graduate attending MCLA.

"That's part of what's really needed, more people to support [the students]," says Morgan, "especially for first-generation students or people who have a hard time wrapping their minds around the affordability of college."

Josh Mendel, the assistant director of admissions at MCLA, agrees.

"When we have a resource person like Denise, it helps get our mission out directly to the students in the high schools," he says.

Up To The Challenge

Applying to college can be a formidable task for anyone, but some populations face extra challenges. Corps member Lillian O'Donnell (A'07) is based at East Boston High this year, and her students come from an urban community with a large immigrant population. Many of them are working or caring for siblings after school and can't afford to participate in extra-curricular activities or sports. That places extra responsibility on the corps members and the school guidance staff to provide information to these students during the school day.

"Everything they're learning about college has to be happening in school," says the 2007 graduate.

For O'Donnell, the importance of her work is apparent.

"One thing that strikes me is the idea of education as a great equalizer, that if you can get to college there are so many opportunities open to you," she says. "It can change the entire trajectory of your life."

The high schoolers-many of whom would be the first person in their family to attend college-come to the College Advising Corps with a wide range of questions about how to apply or how to write an essay. One prevailing concern, particularly for students in lower-income areas, is where to get the money to pay for college.

The corps members themselves are not far removed from the college application process-understanding everything from the paperwork to the anxiety-which makes them an ideal resource for high school students at their high schools. Cahill says the students are connecting with the corps members not just as advisors, but as friends.

"They see someone who's not just an authority figure," he says. "They also see someone they can relate to, who's there to help and cares about their future."

For Wiseman, serving as an advisor is also personally satisfying.

"Knowing that you're helping someone make a really informed decision for their post-graduation planning is pretty great," she says.

Cahill says the advising position gives recent Tufts graduates a great opportunity to learn how to balance the needs of groups with multiple needs.

"I think they have a real sense that it's important that they be there," says Cahill. "It's empowering to see they're becoming a part of these high school communities."