Smith Community Helps
High School Students Get a Head Start

Finding the right college is one of the biggest challenges young students face as they near the end of their high school years. So the Smith community's Black MBA Association (BMBAA) and the Smith Undergraduate Student Association (SUSA) partnered recently to facilitate this process for area high school students. Nearly 60 sophomores, juniors, and seniors from City Lights High School in Washington, D.C., and Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Md., attended an Introduction to College Workshop on December 5, 2003, at the Smith School.

The workshop armed students with information regarding SAT preparation, college-selection criteria, financing options, and admissions criteria for several schools in the metropolitan area. It emphasized the importance of attending college and ways to determine the best "fit" to maximize an individual's college experience. "The event was intended to empower high school students to make informed, well-thought-out decisions when applying to college," said Wadiya Penn, event coordinator and president of BMBAA.

Smith undergraduate and MBA students served as panelists in a discussion about where and how to apply to college. Panelists were very candid as they reflected on their personal reasons, such as geographic location, price, sports teams, and GPA and test score requirements. Kaplan representative Candice Washington provided participants with a crash course on SAT preparation techniques and upcoming modifications to be made to the test. She also donated college-prep books that were given away in a drawing. Representatives from Howard University, Montgomery College, and the University of Maryland gave brief descriptions of each program and answered questions from the audience. Finally, participants were given a detailed overview on options for financing their college educations.

EZ Street (pictured, right), a well-known radio personality from Washington, D.C., station WPGC 95.5, was a highlight of the program. He spoke of the abundant opportunities available for high school students and the importance of taking advantage of events like the workshop.

"Once a minute is gone, it's gone forever," reasoned EZ Street. "You have a wealth of information available to you as long as you use your time wisely." From a more personal standpoint, EZ Street remembered the steps he took to become the first in his family to graduate from college, and reminded youth "it is not where you begin, but where you end that counts."

Though many participants were overwhelmed by the information presented, they were very receptive to the program and thanked the organizers and sponsors for hosting the event. High school teacher chaperones even requested that a similar program be developed to take place within the high schools so that more students have the chance to attend. The participants left the event motivated to start making their college plans.

"I already know what I want to be when I grow up. I want to be an entrepreneur," remarked one ambitious junior from Eleanor Roosevelt High School. "I've already started taking classes in financial planning and entrepreneurship, and I definitely want to get an MBA." Other students are already signed up to take the SAT in the coming weeks.

Nigel Greaves, the event emcee, and Penn, both second-year MBA students, are eager to pass the torch to fellow BMBAA members who will make the Introduction to College Workshop a Smith tradition. "Everyone is dealt a hand in life. It's ultimately how we play our hand that counts," said Penn. "I wanted this event to prompt high school sophomores and juniors to act -- to begin preparing for college now -- and to walk away from this event with the feeling that they are in control of their destinies."

For more information about the BMBAA and SUSA visit:
Black MBA Association: http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/organizations/bmbaa/
Smith Undergraduate Student Association: http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/susa/