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Our youth are facing vast challenges in today’s society, and many feel overwhelmed and discouraged when considering the possibility of attending college.
As the Youth to College program director, I have had the privilege of meeting local youth who are immensely talented, intelligent and determined. San Diego is satiated with incredible young people who are striving to be successful.
My role is to create and supervise programs that inform and encourage our local youth about their post-high school opportunities, specifically their college options. The “how to” college guides and handbooks are readily available and the college-bound programs are developed, but the key ingredient is reaching out to our local youth and personally empowering them to achieve their dreams.
This endeavor takes time, effort and a sincere commitment to enabling the success of our youth. It is my true pleasure to facilitate programs in which our University of San Diego college students reach out to their younger counterparts in the community and encourage them to go to college. The University of San Diego’s Center for Community Service-Learning discovered long ago that the most effective way to create positive social change is through building and sustaining relationships in the community.
I am proud of the 1,400 USD students who participated in and supported Youth to College programming during the 2007-2008 school year. Together, they reached out to and encouraged over 6,000 K-12 community students. It is my deepest hope that of those 6,000 youth, a large majority will remember their USD student tutor or program coordinator and will remember that they too can go to college, succeed, and give back to their local community.
This work will never be finished. It is an ongoing journey of dreams and realities coming to fruition through service, and I am proud to be a part of an institution that is making a difference in the lives and futures of our youth. I encourage you to do the same. Please feel free to contact me any time if you have questions, ideas or would like to be involved in this exciting initiative.
Best regards,
Brenna
Brenna Hughes, Program Director
Center for Community Service-Learning
University of San Diego
619-260-4206
619-260-7835 (fax)
www.sandiego.edu/csl |
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California Campus Compact with funding from the Corporation for National Service “Learn and Serve” program, this is a statewide project involving 12 campuses and 12,000 college students and youth each year for three years (2006-2009). Our San Diego partners are UCSD, Mesa College, and San Diego City College. |
