Schools shape student futures

Originally in the BattleCreekEnquirer.com
Justin A. Hinkley

Jessica Cornwell couldn't let a cold keep her from work last week. Too many kids needed her help to shape their futures.

Even in brief meetings with a reporter -- Cornwell with tissue at the ready -- interruptions came aplenty as kids streamed in and out of her small office at Battle Creek Central High School.

"Ms. Cornwell, I need to e-mail (Western Michigan University)."

"Ms. Cornwell, can we look at my grades?"

The college adviser, a recent University of Michigan graduate and a Detroit native, is running a "Bearcat2College Initiative" at Central, an effort funded in part by U-M and mostly by the National College Advising Corps. Battle Creek Public Schools wrote a grant to become one of eight Michigan districts to host a college adviser this year.

Cornwell said she'd likely be at Central for two years, but BCPS has funding for five years of college advisement.

Her office is a one-stop shop for any kind of post-high school education advice, help or instigation the students need.

She's asked students to have 1,000 college applications filed by Dec. 15. That's about four applications per student, and she's confident they'll surpass her goal. She helps students and parents apply for financial aid. She advises students on keeping their grades up and invites college and financial institutions to visit the high school. She helps students find funding to cover application fees. She also visits BCPS middle schools, encouraging kids to start thinking sooner about their futures.

"There's no down time," Cornwell said. "But I love it. This is important. There's going to be no jobs for somebody without a college education very soon."

The adviser said one of her most important tasks is finding the right school for every student, matching a student's ambitions and abilities to the school that's best for him or her.

She also hopes to educate parents and the community on the importance of continuing education. She said she's trying to create "a college-going culture" in the district.

Only several weeks into the effort, kids say it's working.

Trayana Jefferson, a 16-year-old senior at Central, began this school year with a 2.5 grade-point average. With a stronger focus on college, she raised it to a 3.3 GPA.

Jefferson said she'd thought about college before, "But then I started to have my doubts ... Then she helped me look at colleges that fit my major."

Now, Jefferson said she's applied for six colleges and has already been accepted to three.

Her classmates, Taja Kirklin and Tori Bauman, both 17-year-old seniors, said they'd applied to six and five colleges, respectively, and had been accepted to some.

"I think, before this, kids knew the basics of what schools were nice but didn't know the in-depth opportunity of it," Kirklin said.

"This makes our school better," Bauman said. "People always think Battle Creek Central has a bad reputation. To see more people headed to college, it helps our appearance. It shows people what we can do."

Justin A. Hinkley can be reached at 966-0698 or jhinkley@battlecreekenquirer.com.