On Monday September 15, 2014 Mission High School held their 1st Annual Historical Black College/University (HBCU) Fair Expo. Mission High School asked us to attend the event, giving us the opportunity to recruit for the next the Cohort. So we set up shop in the hallway leading to the cafeteria displaying posters, pamphlets, and giving students the opportunity to get to know us and get in contact with us.
The Staff and Faculty of MHS were extremely excited to invite all the schools of San Francisco Unified School District and give students the opportunity to engage and consider the opportunity of higher education. And Students were coming in by the busload. Every 10-15 minutes a new group of students were arriving and looking eager to find a possible college to attend. Although the event was geared toward seniors applying to college, freshmen sophomores and juniors were also wandering around. This gave us the opportunity to look for recruits for the upcoming cohort and future ones as well.
However beyond the event there was an opportunity to see the relationship between MHS and College Connect. Ivan was familiar with a lot of the faculty and staff giving him the opportunity to find more students for the program. Teachers were checking in with Ivan, taking applications for students they think are right for College Connect, asking questions regarding the program, and some teachers even brought students directly to the table so that they can grab an application. Most of the potential students that walked up were ones that were recommended by their peers or teachers!
The strength of the community was showing, the collective effort to make college and expectation was apparent, and the opportunity that Mission Graduates provides students only strengthens the people in the community.