Jakayla Roberts, 14, had never visited a college campus until coming to Colorado State University with her Boys & Girls Club of Metro Denver (BGCMD) cohort in July.
The freshman at Noel Community Arts School (NCAS), said the overnight trip with 26 of her peers changed her life and made her think about what she could accomplish in the future.
“I want to come here, it’s awesome,” Roberts said. “I feel like in college we will get to learn so much more about who we are. I’m going to focus a lot more on my studies.”
CSU has a comprehensive partnership with the BGCMD, and hosts students on campus several times a year to introduce them to college as a viable option.
Many of the students in Boys & Girls Clubs may not hear much about college at home, so these experiences are invaluable, said Laysa Shreves, site director for the Noel Boys & Girls Club.
“Before [this trip], you’d ask them ‘what do you want to do’ and they’d answer that they didn’t know. Now I think a lot of them have something to say,” Shreves said. “Being here and knowing this is a path is making them think where they want their final path to lead.”
The students toured campus, had free time in the Rec Center, practiced with the CSU Spirit Team, shot baskets with CSU alumnus Joe De Ciman, ate in the dining halls, and stayed overnight in Summit Hall. In the evening, they visited Old Town Fort Collins and enjoyed a concert, magician, and dancing.
David Kuhl, youth enrichment specialist for the Noel Boys & Girls Club, said the experience was amazing to witness because the students quickly engaged with the campus and the community.
“Any moment when I don’t have to speak for them is so incredible to see. They’re out there doing it and succeeding at it,” Kuhl said. “They are thinking about college, and they’re already like, ‘this is where I want to go when I’m older.’ I already see them much more excited and much more motivated.”
Adrian Ortega, 12, is a 7th grader at Kunsmiller Middle School. He dreams about being a filmmaker and director and knows higher education is something he needs to get there.
“As I think about it, it’s really fun and has started to make me think more about my future,” Adrian Ortega said. “Next year I’m going to really try to do all my homework and get good grades.”
His experiences with Boys & Girls Club and CSU have inspired him, and Adrian wants to inspire others, so much so that he made up his own quote to share with his peers, he tells them: “Creativity is the heart and soul of the world, but imagination is the true key.”
In addition to the in-person experiences on campus, CSU’s partnership with BGCMD means that students have increased access to CSU during their time in Boys & Girls Clubs, and each student coming from the Denver clubs is eligible for an Access Center scholarship.
“It has made me think a lot about coming to CSU because it means more opportunity to make the most of college,” said Areyana Proctor, 15, sophomore at NCAS, who is taking Advanced Placement courses and planning to attend college for a degree in Journalism.
The partnership with CSU has very real benefits because it adds an experiential component to what BGCMD tells students about the importance of higher education, according to Shreves.
“They see they can dream big and if they work hard they can get to a huge university like CSU,” she said. “After these experiences, they have an idea of where they want to go and they want it. If they have an idea of where they want to go, we can work with them – we can get them there.”
