Taylor

Here at the University of Iowa, we pride ourselves on the high level of diversity and community that we have achieved.  Over the years we have expanded that community to include local youth, who visited the campus on Friday April 19.  I had the privilege of spending the day with them as they learned about the benefits of a college education and got to experience a little bit of what it’s like to go to school here at Iowa.  Middle school students arrived from Roosevelt, Taft, and J.B. Young for introductions and a Q&A panel, but the highlight for me was seeing the students from Franklin Middle School again.

The Center for Diversity and Enrichment runs a pen pal program with Franklin that allows college students to reach out to young people who are looking to pursue higher education.  These students are excited about learning, they’re hopeful, and they are undoubtedly our future world changers.

During the Q&A at the College of Education, students stood and asked questions of professional educators, graduate, and undergraduate students.  I think I speak on behalf of all those involved when I say how delightful it was to hear such serious and well thought out questions from such a young group of students about the hardships of life and the choices one has to make along the way.  Following this, students headed over to Burge Marketplace to enjoy the buffet style dining hall.  The students had to move through the space just as the college students do – locating trays and situating themselves in the seating area.  It was just as fun to see the hall scattered with thirteen year olds as it was to see the college students reaction to it.

That seemed to be the general consensus of all the students, judging by the stacks of plates.  When I was in middle school you couldn’t have payed me to eat shrimp and sushi but there was no stopping these guys.  As I hopped around snapping photos, I stopped to ask a few questions of the students.  I was surprised at how willing they were to share.  Much like Aliya Sanders and Britton Fields, who talked about  pursuing a world language and the difficulties of balancing schedules, the students accepted questions with open arms.  They spoke openly about their weaknesses in certain subjects, ideas they have about their futures, the people they have crushes on, and even personal struggles. They never hesitated to share.  Especially not in the classroom.

The Franklin Middle School students headed over to the Blank Honors Center (naturally, as it is the student achievement hub) to discuss their recently read novel “The Skin I’m In” by Sharon G. Flake.  The students were split into groups based on gender where staff led them in a discussion .  The young students addressed cultural, racial, gender, and other issues with an intelligence and grace beyond their age.  It made me happy to know that some of the students are interested in ending up here at Iowa with the rest of the Hawkeyes.  But I wish each of them the best of luck in their future endeavors.

A big thanks to the University of Iowa, the Center for Diversity and Enrichment, Franklin Middle School, Javier Rivera, and Andrew Freeman for making the experience possible.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 22nd, 2013 at 8:04 am and is filed under General, . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.