So Much More Than Tutoring and Mentoring...

Cabrini Connections is a tutoring and mentoring, volunteer-based program, but we are so much more!!! Besides tutoring and mentoring services, we provide not only site based resources for our participants, we also provide off-site opportunities that we feel can and will assist the students with their current and future academic and career goals. One of the many resources that we provide are college and university trips, and today we visited DePaul University!

Over the years we have visited many of the colleges and universities in the Chicagoland area, but what made this trip a little more unique than the rest was the fact that this entire opportunity was set up by a parent of one our current students. Rhonda Parrow, mother of 2nd year student Aaliyah Griffin, is a graduate student at DePaul University and she is involved with a program at DePaul that sets up tours similar to the one we went on today. There were a total of 5 students and 2 staff that took part in this opportunity, and although it was a smaller group, those that attended had a very positive experience.

The visit started with lunch at the Welcome Center and we also were provided an hour long admission's presentation given by a current DePaul University student. This presentation provided the group with any and all of the information about the school, financial aid, classes, social life, and more! Following the information session we then were greeted with our tour guide and he walked us around the campus providing us with more information about the life of a DePaul University student. One of the biggest attractions for the group was the student center on campus which serves as one of the main meeting places for DePaul students to eat, play games, socialize, AND....do homework.

Our group spent a little over two hours on the campus and it was a great opportunity for the students and staff to get more information about the university, what it takes to get into the school, life after graduation, and the opportunity to just envision themselves walking on a college campus in the near future! We definitely want to thank Rhonda Parrow and the DePaul University for providing us with this great opportunity, we greatly appreciate the great service that we received today.

Good to Great and Cabrini Connections

As we head to the final months of the 2010-11 school year I encourage volunteers, staff, students and supporters to spend time reading sections of the Cabrini Connections planning wiki such as this section titled Good to Great.

Each year is a cycle where we begin to look from one year to the next, with new volunteers growing into leadership roles. As more members of our community become familiar with these planning documents, more become owners and more talent is unleashed to help us succeed in connecting youth and volunteers in life-changing mentoring and tutoring.

The wikis can be edited (they need editing) and new ideas can be added. As our teens look at these they can become more engaged in shaping the direction of Cabrini Connections and of their own futures.

As you have questions or want to discuss the information and ideas please contact Dan or El or set up a time when groups can discuss this information.

They Brought Their "A" Essays!!!

We officially wrapped up our Black History Month festivities in our last two sessions of the month of February on a very high note. After weeks of promoting the "Bring Your A Essay" contest for Black History Month, we were honored to announce the names of the students that received the Runner Up Prize and the Grand Prizes.

The essays that we received were very well done and definitely reflected that the students not only were focused during the documentary, but it also showed how the documentary directly affected them and those around them. And that is exactly what we were looking for in this essay, we were looking for students to observe the "Bring Your A Game" documentary and reflect on the film and how it relates to the their life.

During our Wednesday Night session we had the pleasure to present freshman student, Arden Harris, with the Grand Prize of $50 and she was also presented with an additional special prize. Wednesday Night mentors Matt and Barbara Barnes donated 2 televisions the previous week, and Arden was able to take her pick out of which tv she would like to take home as well! Before receiving her prizes, Arden shared with the group a little about her essay and said, "be sure to get your education because no matter what you want to do in life you will need an education." And that statement holds true to not only the students that were present, but the adults in the room understand her point as well.

On Thursday Night we were able to provide a runner up prize as well. Wells High School, Whitney Hemphill, received recognition and the runner up prize of the 2nd donated tv. Whitney's essay was well done also and displayed how important her education is to putting her in a position to obtain the career she is looking for and providing for her own family.

We congratulate all of the students that entered the contest this year and encourage all of the Cabrini Connections' students to take advantage of opportunities like these. Not only are there usually prizes attached to these contests, but they also provide other valuable lessons that can be utilized in and outside of the program.

Arden Harris' "A" Essay:

Many young African Americans grow up doing things they see others do. They grow up thinking that it is ok to stand on street corners all day and not want to do anything or be anything in life. According to the film Bring Your A Game, what most young people do not see is that in order to become a famous rapper, an NBA basketball player, or a politician, you have to get an education. The young African Americans who do not want to do anything in life are the same ones who taunt others who try their best in school, so that they can get ahead. What many young people do not realize is that a good work ethic and a good education will help them in the future but they have to do the rest.

No matter what profession young people choose it’s important that they stay in school. However, Bring Your A Game shows that 25% of Caucasians, 30% of Asians, and 50% of African Americans drop out of high school each year. To many young African Americans it is cool to get bad grades, act defiantly, and get into trouble. Those same young people aspire to become NBA basketball players or even rappers; what they do not realize is that education is important for success. In the movie people from different professions like rappers, authors, and mayors come together and show that no matter what they wanted to become, education came first.

Putting education first is not always easy. These young people cannot do it alone; they need guidance from people who are willing to help them achieve their short-term, as well as their lifetime goals. Young people need to learn that in order to get ahead that may have to make many sacrifices, but in the end it will be worth it. Instead of going to the biggest party of the year, they may have to be at home studying for that big physics test because that is going to get them to places that they want to be in life, but that party won’t. As a community, everyone needs to step up to help young African Americans because, just like a ripple effect, every action that a person in the community makes affects someone else around them. In the words of Robert Francis Kennedy, “It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”

By: Arden Harris