Turning college dreams into reality: Texas mentors take on the challenge

November 10, 12:50 PMCollege Admissions ExaminerLauren Starkey

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What does it take to get into college? For some Texas students, it takes the vision, the time, and the commitment of a team of volunteers. For the past eight years, trained mentors have been working with high school students in three Texas high schools, helping them through each step of the admissions process, from test prep to school choice to financial aid. John Grubbs, one of the mentors, explains, “we target kids who are academically able and who have no one in their home who has attended college. Most are born of immigrant parents who have little or no formal education, and many are on the free or reduced lunch program.

“We work hard to select students who will be successful in four-year accredited colleges. Their life experiences are so limited that they have no idea what opportunities are out there waiting for them if they can work their way through the bureaucracy of education.” Called Collegiate Challenge, the program’s goal is “to give economically disadvantaged, minority students the one-on-one attention needed to bridge the gap between home, school and the future. It has enabled approximately 225 low-income students to fulfill the dream of college.” It boasts a 100% college acceptance rate for project participants, and, in conjunction with other school-based college programs raised SAT scores by 3% in Math and 7% in Critical Reading.

Grubbs continues, “these kids don’t have the resources to be able to go to school for 1-2 years to figure out what they want to do. They need to go for four years (or 5 to a co-op school) and then start adding a paycheck to their family's resources. This program can change not only their life but that of their entire family.”

I asked John why he volunteers as a mentor; “I've helped nine young people to get an education, and a number of them probably would not have attended schools of the quality and with the financial aid that I helped them find. I personally believe that education will not solve all of America's problems, but it will do more than any other single factor to keep us on the right track.” 

Linda Buchman, who manages Collegiate Challenge, notes with pride that it is a Texas High School Exemplar program, and was recently named a finalist in the Star Awards competition of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. She is excited about growing Collegiate Challenge, saying “we will happily share all of our materials, models, and program design with anyone interested in starting a similar program.”

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