There are plenty of books and guides out there that can teach young men about college, but nothing compares to real, on-campus experiences.

Approximately 200 high school students from around the country have gotten a glimpse into college life during the past three years by participating in one of Wabash’s two new summer programs: Pathway to Your Future and Playbook for Life: Navigating Careers in the World of Sports.

Both programs are designed for rising high school sophomores and juniors.

Steven Jones ’87, dean for professional development and director of the Malcolm X Institute of Black Studies (MXIBS), says colleges like Wabash must connect with these scholars early and often to improve student outcomes, such as college enrollment, retention, and graduation rates.

“It’s all about building connections,” explains Jones. “When you think about students who have the right GPA, are involved with extracurriculars—are captains of this, or presidents of that—if you have not established a relationship with them early in their high school journey, when they get to the point of making a decision about college, they’re going to have a zillion options. The institutions that do a better job of creating those relationships earlier in the process will have a better chance of closing the deal with those individuals.”

Jones speaks from his own experience. In 1982, he attended Opportunities to Learn About Business (OLAB), a one-week summer program formerly at Wabash designed for rising high school seniors interested in business and the market economy.

During that time on campus, Jones connected with Wabash students, faculty, and staff.

“It was through those relationships that I realized I do belong here,” he says. “This is a place where I could see myself. Those feelings are still valid for high school students today.”

Pathway to your Future, part of the “Restoring Hope, Restoring Trust” grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., is a free weeklong program for high school students that aims to ensure all students, regardless of background, are prepared to navigate the challenges of higher education and graduate with skills that will help them succeed in life and build more inclusive communities.

Out of 71 applicants, 20 students from Indiana, Ohio, and Texas, with an average GPA of 3.9, participated in the program this summer.

“These young men are highly coveted,” says Kim King ’99, assistant director of the MXIBS. “They are the cream of the crop. They are making the grades, taking on leadership roles in their high schools and communities, and are the kinds of students every competitive and resourceful college or university targets for admission.”

Pathway to Your Future students spent the week engaging with Wabash faculty and staff in student-centered, hands-on learning experiences that featured engaging in networking sessions with successful alumni, learning from civic and business leaders about the transferable skills needed to succeed in college, enjoying the College’s first-class athletics and recreational facilities, and participating in an immersive experience in Indianapolis.

Each participant has the potential to receive an annual scholarship of at least $25,000 upon admission to Wabash College.

It typically takes four to five years for quantitative data to show the direct impact of a summer program on students. Although Pathway has only just wrapped up year three, King says Wabash leaders are already seeing indicators that it’s working.

“皇冠足球比分_澳门皇冠体育-在线|平台@ will have a member of our freshman class at Wabash who attended Pathway and applied early decision—and he then influenced one of his peers to do the same,” says King. “That offers a glimmer of hope for what this program can do specifically for recruitment.”

Survey responses submitted by students are also telling, explains King. These measure the participants’ expectations and overall knowledge of how college works from the beginning to the end of the program.

“Results show that students are leaving with a much stronger sense of college readiness,” he says. “What’s even more important is that they are also discovering that they do belong at an institution like Wabash.”

A survey prompt asked Pathway to Your Future participants what they would tell a friend about Wabash College. One student—now a rising senior who joined the program as a rising sophomore and again as a junior—shared: “It’s a college like no other that prioritizes the 

students and the networking so that we could experience that brotherhood bond with each other and be way ahead of other students at any other school.”

Another student shared: “Attending Pathway to Your Future not only opened my eyes to the college life I’d be living soon, but it also strengthened the hunger I already had deep inside of me. I not only found myself to be very fond of Wabash College, but I also truly felt like I belong somewhere.”

Playbook for Life: Navigating Careers in the World of Sports is a free weeklong residential summer camp funded by the “Indiana Youth Programs on 皇冠足球比分_澳门皇冠体育-在线|平台@ Initiative” from Lilly Endowment Inc., created for high school students interested in a career in sports.

The program combines concepts from Wabash’s liberal arts curriculum with high-impact teaching practices to help young men develop skills for successful leadership and administration at all levels of amateur and professional sports. These life skills include the ability to speak and write effectively, listen carefully, and think critically.

“It’s really important to get students exposed to the idea of going to college and the ki