October coincides with college and career readiness in St. Cloud Area Schools, and what better way to acknowledge that than with a kickoff to the “Bigs on Campus” program? Bigs on Campus is a nationwide mentoring program, and locally it is a partnership between St. Cloud Area School District 742, St. Cloud State University (SCSU) and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Minnesota (BBBS). This year, the program is starting with seventh and eighth-grade students in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program from South Junior High School.
Students in the year-long AVID program are usually in their school’s most difficult classes, as well as attending their AVID elective class that is taught by a trained AVID teacher. The program is designed to support students who are capable of completing college-prep classes to achieve their potential.
Rachel Johnson, a recruiter for BBBS, says, “[Bigs on Campus] is a perfect fit for exposure to college and [for students] to experience and talk to people in that world. Students will meet with a mentor twice a month on campus.”
Each student in seventh-grade AVID is paired with a volunteer mentor from SCSU.
“Each mentor (referred to as a Big) is interviewed and paired with a student (referred to as a Little),” says Jessica Holmgren, school and site-based coordinator at BBBS. “Bigs have an idea what they [Littles] are interested in and how to approach them.”
The first week is all about introductions.
This week involves a campus tour and one-on-one time between Bigs and Littles after the tour.
“Do you want to be a weatherman or sportsman for a night?” asks Reed Ailes, an honors senior at SCSU, as he guides the students through the campus tour and points to the building that houses UTVS (SCSU’s television station). “We have a great mass comm department here.”
So that students have an understanding of the class, Holmgren is quick to ask Ailes, “What is mass comm?”
Ailes explains, “Mass comm is short for mass communications, which is radio, television and mass marketing.”
During the tour, several mentors share personal stories with their Littles along the way. Some are stories of when, they, themselves attended the university.
Matt Trombley, interim executive director of Atwood Memorial Center, is one of those mentors.
“This is a great way to talk to a student in an environment that they may be considering,” explains Trombley. “They [SCSU] made it really convenient for us to be a part of the program.”
Ethan Lund is Trombley’s Little.
“I like being on campus. I want to go into animating or cooking,” says Lund. “I want to go to college even more now.”
Some of the students really connect with their Bigs. Assistant director of organizations, Sami Bosacki and her Little, Savanna Dusek, have really hit it off. Savanna is a chatterbox during the tour. She tells Bosacki about her day, her projects in school (particularly those in her language arts class), all about her teachers and her homework.
Bosacki has recently finished a presentation about college life and opportunities at a high school and explains, “I just love talking to students about what college can be like and Savanna is great!”
Dusek responds, “I want to be a wrestler, but she (Bosacki) is persuading me to be a language arts teacher.”
Once the tour is complete, the Bigs and Littles have time to spend one-on-one. Some visit the bowling alley and activities in the lower level of Atwood Memorial Center. Other Bigs show off their office spaces to give them a taste of a career in higher education. Some pairs casually walk and talk while visiting other buildings. However, one set has a special moment.
It is Destiny Ali-Scully’s birthday and Jen Sell Matzke has brought her Little a gift. It is a private moment shared between the two that brings smiles and hugs from both of them. Sell Matzke has given Ali-Scully a journal so that Ali-Scully has a way to write down her thoughts and dreams.
Jayne Greeney Schill, AVID liaison for St. Cloud Area School District, describes the program, “This is a great college and career program that gives kids opportunity. A lot of students haven’t had the option of attending college. They’d be the first generation of students to attend. A lot of them don’t know it is an option until they are asked to join the program.”
Greeney Schill’s dream is to expand AVID districtwide. It is currently at North and South Junior High Schools and Apollo and Tech High Schools. Until then, Greeney Schill is excited that this program is giving these students a taste of a college campus a chance to expand their horizons.
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