  |  |  |  |
| Written by Alice Knotts | |
| Wednesday, 19 May 2010 | |
 On Thursday, May 13th, GEAR UP’s new program College Coaches wrapped up it 2010 spring session with a closing ceremony at the beautiful Reid Center building on Whitman College’s main campus.  At the ceremony, each participating high school student received an award of recognition from GEAR UP. The kids were proud to receive their awards from GEAR UP, but the real entertainment of the evening commenced when the students received an additional, specialized award from their college coaches. The awards from coaches were personalized and unique for each student. Award titles covered interesting categories like “Miss Independent,” “Most Likely to Have His Own Talk Show,” and “Most Likely to Ace All Her Classes.” Before handing out their special (even handmade) awards, the coaches all said a heartfelt and individualized message filled with advice, personal observations, and encouragement for each student.  The messages and certificates were a significant representation of the kinds of mentoring relationships students and coaches had developed working together through College Coaches. One coach even gave a gift to her mentee: a book personally chosen for a student who had expressed a growing interest in reading. (You know you’ve accomplished something when a child is excited to receive a book as a gift!) To end the evening, a big thank you was given to all of the Whitman College Coaches for their choice to get involved with the local community, and for their commitment to the program through its trial period. This year's Whitman student coaches' reliability and dedication to their role has set the foundation for the future of College Coaches. | |
| Last Updated ( Thursday, 20 May 2010 ) |
No comments:
Post a Comment