March to College Day helps educate adolescents about attending college

For most students, college was a given. It was something they never gave a second thought to because they knew it was simply the next step on their journeys toward successful lives. And they might have taken it for granted at times. \nBut for a group of kids from the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, college is a mystery. It is a foreign concept that is unreachable and unattainable. To some of the kids, college is an achievement unbeknownst to them altogether. \nSo on Saturday morning, Big Brothers Big Sisters teamed with the National Society of Collegiate Scholars to present March to College Day, a day for adolescents to experience college life. \nPlanning for College Success a program of the NSCS, educates adolescents who may not attend college about the college atmosphere.\nJunior Katie Kleckner, president of NSCS, said some of the youths have lived in Bloomington all their lives but have never been on the IU campus. \nSenior Stephanie Cave, president of Planning for College Success, said March to College Day is the finale of a series of events the organization puts on for the kids. She said such activities included making sleds and Valentine’s Day cards. Cave said March to College Day is a day for a group of diverse adolescents to gain better insight into what it is like attending college.\n“(The kids) all come from different backgrounds,” Cave said. “Many situations, poverty situations. They think this is unrealistic. They are not in a position for someone to tell them what it takes to get to college.”\nThe kids started out in a mock classroom where Kleckner posed as “professor Kleckner,” a chemistry educator. “Professor Kleckner” dealt with common interruptions professors face in the college classroom, such as cell phones interrupting class, students sleeping, and having to use the bathroom in the middle of a lecture. Members of the NSCS then fielded questions from the Big Brothers Big Sisters group of kids regarding a college classroom environment. \nAfter the mock classroom, the kids were split up into three groups, each of which journeyed on a tour through campus. One such group made stops at the Indiana Memorial Union, the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and even Teter Quad to get an inside look at college dorm rooms.\nThe day in the life of a college student was preparation for the older students who are a few years away from seriously considering higher education.\n“It was great going to different buildings and seeing what it was like and it helped me out a lot,” said Corey, a 15-year-old sophomore at Bloomington High School North. “It makes me look forward to college more.”\nNot only do the kids have little knowledge of what college is about, but they must fight the perception that college simply isn’t for them. They said March to College Day helps squelch any such preconceived notions.\n“The most important thing for them to know is that it’s here,” Kleckner said. “It’s good for them to be exposed to this environment and feel like they’ll be accepted here and it doesn’t matter where they’re from.”\nAlthough educating the kids about college was the main goal of March to College Day, showing the kids love and attention was also important.\n“They’re amazing kids,” Cave said. “It’s more about spending time with the kids. Even if every detail didn’t work out, it’s about spending time with the kids.”\nAmong all the games, laughter and education about college life emerged perhaps the most important theme of March to College Day: hope.\n“Kids that come from those types of homes don’t know what is out there,” Kleckner said. “It gives them a chance to see that kids are loved and it boosts their self-esteem and gives them hope for things they didn’t think were options.”