We are currently moving our office, but our services and service area will remain the same. During this transition, if you need immediate 24-hour domestic or sexual assault crisis support, please call +1-804-612-6126. All other customer-related inquiries should be directed to our primary intake number, +1-804-362-6835.
We have moved our office, but our service area remains the same. If you need immediate 24-hour domestic or sexual assault crisis support, please call +1-804-612-6126. All other customer-related inquiries should be directed to our primary intake number, +1-804-362-6835.
I would love to start out just with a little bit of understanding as far as your role goes with Thrive Virginia. Can you tell us a little bit about what you specifically do for the organization?
“On the education and social capital team, I actually wear two hats. I am a coordinator of the Project Discovery program that I run in Charles City High School, and then I also teach violence prevention lessons in elementary, middle, and high school as well.”
How often do you do that?
“It depends. In the fall, we kick off with Project Discovery, and I try to get a bunch of high school kids recruited and excited about the program, and then in late fall, early winter and through the spring, almost until June, we are teaching violence prevention lessons.”
Let's actually dig in a little bit to Project Discover. Can you start by giving us an overview of what that program is?
“Project Discovery is a statewide college and career readiness program, and it's for underserved youth. It is an entirely free program. It promotes education as a means of ending multi-generational poverty. Currently, the program is in 19 localities with thriving women, and my colleague and I are currently in two high schools. We offer the program 9th through 12th grade.”
And what types of things does the program involve?
“We help and encourage students to make post-secondary plans. So, after high school graduation, what are they gonna do? They have options like college, military, trade school or going into the workforce. They have a lot of stuff to figure out. So I come in, and we talk about everything. I hold workshops on goal setting. I hold workshops on the college admission process, FAFSA career, and career exploration lessons.
Honestly, whatever they want to learn about or interested in, I can create a workshop about. We also take field trips. We go to college campuses. Part of the program is about cultural enrichment. So last year for example, we went into Richmond, and we took a yoga class for one trip. We learned about wood burning in another. I mean, there's just so much that this program offers. Another great thing is I offer counseling to the students, like help with the college application process and resume writing. It just goes on and on.”
I love the name Project Discovery. It sounds like a lot of what you're doing is even just exposing kids to different things they may not have been exposed to before.
“That is exactly right, so it is truly a discovery. The possibilities are endless. I really try to make things fun so the kids want to keep coming back. And I also provide free lunches and free snacks. They really love that as well.”
I know in a lot of communities, one of the biggest hurdles is simply having the ability to figure out the financial resources for trade school or college. Is that a part of the process?
“It is a part of the process, and it is confusing. I truly learn something new every time I try to help a student.
We offer guidance on filling out the FAFSA, the free application for student aid, help with college applications, and with scholarship searching. There's just so much, especially with single parent homes or homes where two parents are working all the time to make ends meet. It's just such a time consuming thing. We try to involve the parents as much as they want to be involved. I'm always willing to take on some chaperones! Parents are always welcome to come to FFA night events; I feel like if the parent is learning and the child is learning it is a positive experience for everybody.
I love that you're also covering trade schools. In a lot of high schools, the teachers are so programmed to only talk about college. We need some of our kids to go into trade school and sometimes it just may be a better fit.
“Yes it seems like Trade school is almost a secondary topic in most educational institutions.
College has sort of been ingrained in us. It's not for everyone. 18 year olds sometimes just want to go to a trade school, learn a skill, earn a certificate or a license, and get to work.
They can make some really solid money and make a better life for themselves. If it's not college or the military or the workforce, trade school is a wonderful thing. “
Can you tell us a little bit more about some of the benefits that you're seeing come out of Project Discovery?
“This is my third year running the program, and I have four students currently in college. Three are attending a community college, one is down at Old Dominion University; and I have been able to keep in touch with my students, which is so amazing. I was able to offer them scholarships last year. I feel like the relationships that I have built with these students are going to be long lasting.”
A lot of your cohorts at Thrive are dealing with some really difficult issues. It seems you are truly on such an uplifting side of things! You get to send these kids off into a world of success by helping them to navigate through the best options for their future lives!
“We typically try to stay in touch directly and then the state office for Project Discovery keeps tabs on them for six years. So once they graduate, we don't just forget about them. We are keeping up, and hopefully we can celebrate successes with them.”
What is the application process to get involved with Project Discovery?
“There is a part that the parent or guardian fills out and that is really standard information like address, student grade level and birthday. Then we dig a little deeper, and we look for employment information, salary information, and then we even throw in a quick survey about the student's thoughts on college.
We gather all that information and then there are three criteria that we look for. Students must at least check one off the box:
They just need to hit one of those three things. Now, 10% of my total enrollment may be exempt from those three criteria as long as their school counselor believes that they would benefit from enrolling in the program. That will allow them in as well. I don't like to turn anybody away.”
And this is for students, literally all across the state of Virginia?
“It is. It's a statewide program. I'm typically in Charles City. My colleague is in King and Queen County. We're hoping to expand one day, but for now, those are the two rural counties that we are in.”
What do you see as some of the biggest challenges for some of the kids coming through your program?
“Some of them don't have support at home and that's hard to see. Their parents may be working a tough job, and they just can't break that cycle of poverty. The parent may not know how to guide the student. It can get challenging, and sometimes I have a plan, a field trip, and then no one wants to go. Yeah, so that's also a challenge too, right? How do I keep the kids excited and interested? How can I get the parents on board and support the program as well? It's truly a team effort. I try to make it work for all of our families.”
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