The Fall College Tour Adventure Series

The college tour was one that I will not soon forget. Aside from the preparation time and the all the emailing and calling schools and van companies to try to pull this thing off, I stayed up at night wondering if the students were going to get anything out it. This was my first college tour since I went on college tours as a young student. So I fretted over whether this was going to offer students a well rounded experience. Well, I think the answer was, Yes! Still, pulling the tour off was not a stroll in the park.

Our itinerary began with us scheduled to leave the Shaw campus at 8am sharp, because we had a scheduled tour at Hampton University at noon, and it take at least 3 hours to get down to that part of Virginia by car. Well, clearly Friday was opposite day, because leaving at 8am sharp became duller and duller as a few students called and said they overslept, forgot their medication, or any other excuses they could offer for not being ready. Ugggg, as Charlie Brown would say. But, the show went on.

So we ended up departing around 9am and that meant that the peddle was to the metal down I-95. Feet were light as a feather when our 6th sense told us a state trooper was nearby, but I digress. We arrived at Hampton University safe and sound a few minutes behind schedule, but the tour would soon make up for it.

We were greeted by one awesome Hampton professor (Ravenn Gethers) and two genial and fantastic Hampton students (Ralonda and Tiffany), who were our hosts for the tour and provided interesting information about Hampton and its campus life. They showed us their gymnasium, called the Convocation Center that is used for basketball as well as concerts. We were also able to see a Greek fraternity and sorority party line, inside their student activities center...that was great for the students! Our tour guides, one from DC and one from Oakland (BUILD sites of course), provided honest commentary about what life is like in college and what a student has to do to prepare as well as succeed. I appreciated our Hampton tour. I also appreciated that as a Howard University alum (Hampton's archrivals in football), I was not welcomed into enemy territory with great hospitality and open arms.

Next we headed to Norfolk State University. Maybe I should say, THE NORFOLK STATE UNIVERSITY, because the tour guide was SO PROUD of his institution and was not ashamed to let everyone know. Our tour guide was a member of the band, so we had the opportunity to listen to the bank practice for the football game the following day against Winston-Salem University. The have a great band and it was fun watching them warm up. The student were enamored by the insight our guide provided about the university and the courses they offer. You could tell that he takes being a student ambassador very seriously...thank you, Breyon! Norfolk State also has a 30,000 seat football stadium, which looks great and wonderful engineering and science program, which peaked the interest of one of our students, and she was able to speak with one of the students in the program for almost 20 minutes! Norfolk State was a great host and truly was a fantastic choice for our college tour.

We headed back to the hotel in Hampton, and the students were so excited that their was a pool. I thought that was hilarious, because half of the students did not bring swim wear...what the excitement was about, I don't know! Anyway, the students were great through the night, although pretty upset that we put tape on their doors to maintain our 10:30pm curfew. However, I must say, they appreciate why we put tape on the doors and told them lights out at 11pm, because those that disobeyed were feeling it when my 7:30am wake-up call came. Needless to say, their attention span needed a boost of adrenaline when we traveled to ODU.

Old Dominion University was our last college visit. Old Dominion has such a beautiful campus and the buildings are state-of-the-art. I was a pleasure seeing their dorms, their student activity center (the largest on the east coast!), their classrooms and hearing about all the perks of going to ODU. Our wonderful student ambassador Erica was awesome and so knowledgeable that it was unbelievable. I am very thankful to Professor Ravenn Gethers for organizing our tours of both Hampton University (where she teaches) and Old Dominion University (her alma mater). I was also happy to hear that Old Dominion, Hampton and Norfolk State is such a community resource and that Norfolk and Hampton area find those wonderful institutions so accessible. All in all, we had a fabulous time!

We ended our journey by attending the Hampton University vs Morgan State University football game. The students enjoyed the bands and the competitiveness of the game. Though our hosts Hampton University were unable to pull out the victory, our students became die-hard fans and wanted to stay until the very end, despite the game being in hand with 2 minutes to go. After the game, we drove back to DC and began the healing process (and by healing I mean not doing anything that required my body to physically move for 24 hours...we did a lot of walking on those tours).

So BUILD fans, pack your bags and get ready to take off a few days, because we are doing it all again in the spring! This time, your coming with us!

According to Vishnu!

Our Students Are Fabulous

I wanted to share with you a few points about the fantastic students we serve! This summer we hosted Metro DC’s first Launch Camp and the participation and outcomes were eye-opening for me. I want to start with a story about one of our students who is no longer attending our partner school (Maya Angelou Public Charter School.)

On Lorraine:

Lorraine is a student who has long struggled with life at home. She did not have a strong relationship with her mother, who passed away when she was 2 years old. She has been in the foster care system for a little while and has lived off and on with relatives, like her grandmother. When she started with BUILD last year, it was easy to see how sweet and considerate Lorraine could be, but also how much of a challenge it was for her to participate consistently. Through conversation with Lorraine, it was apparent that school was important, but it was never as serious as whatever she was facing personally on any given day.

Somehow, we all worked together – her BUILD mentors, teachers, school administration and our staff, to pull Lorraine through the school year before she became so disengaged from school that she would drop out. Toward the end of the school year, Lorraine informed me that she was in the process of being adopted by a relative and would be transferring to a new school. I was disappointed to lose her, but happy at the prospect of stability at home.

During the summer, Lorraine moved to a new home with her new mom. Each time I called the house or tried to mail something to the address we had on file, she never received it. I was hoping that Lorraine would join us for Launch Camp, even though she would be attending another school and may have to drop BUILD as a result. I could not get in contact with her until one day when one of the administrators called my office and said that Lorraine had been calling all week, wondering when Launch Camp would start and how could she be in it! I was all too excited to get her phone number and talk to her. When I did, the first thing she said was that she missed the program and she would definitely be in Launch Camp. When she arrived, she was eager to see her teammates from 9^th grade and participate in every activity until the end. We look forward to Lorraine’s participation in the Incubator this year!

On Natalee:

Natalee is a bright young lady with a desire to improve herself all the time. During Launch Camp, we did an exercise called, My Secret Identity, where students used objects, fictitious attributes and talents or past and present heroes to describe themselves. Natalee responded to the question, “If I were a hero besides myself, I would be (blank), “ by saying that she would be the female Ghandi because she would want to create peace among different countries, people, or groups. In response to the question, “If I could possess a super-power, it would be (blank),” she said she would possess the power of super-intelligence, because then she would be able to fix all of the world’s problems like finding a cure for cancer or AIDS. It is gratifying to see students already embodying civic engagement, a trait we seek to foster through our programming.

On Kimberly and Ecila:

One of our teams, Young Jewelz, is a made up of six young ladies who would like to go into the fashion business, starting with custom t-shirts. Two of those Young Jewelz are Kimberly and Ecila. Kimberly is the Vice President of Marketing and Sales for her team. She is a very outspoken and passionate member of the team. Ecila is the Layout Design Manager, a position that I created because Ecila is a special-needs student and she had difficulty grasping the duties of the positions already prescribed, such as VP of Design, Chief Operating Officer or Chief Financial Officer.

Ecila was unable to attend Launch Camp this summer because her mother did not feel comfortable with her traveling by herself via the Metro. However, four other members of Young Jewelz did attend and met to discuss the direction of the company. During the planning sessions, two members of Young Jewelz wondered if Ecila would be able to handle the needs of business and proposed that a vote should be taken as to whether they would ask the BUILD staff to place Ecila on another team.

However, Kimberly was staunchly against the move. Kimberly vetoed the idea immediately and threatened to leave if the other members went through with their request. She felt that regardless of Ecila’s contribution level, Young Jewelz was a team and Ecila was a part of their identity and the ingredients that make them a success. Needless to say, the other members relented and Ecila will continue to be a shining young jewel!

Those are a few anecdotes about our students in the BUILD program, particularly from our Launch Camp this summer. I look forward to sharing new amazing stories about what is happening at BUILD Metro DC.

Vishnu Dzidzienyo

Incubator Manager