Break dancing and teamwork exercises were on the agenda when Promote 360, the SESP student organization dedicated to empowering minority young people, hosted a group of fifth graders on campus on March 12.
"The purpose of this event was to introduce the fifth graders to college so that they would be inspired to add college to their educational path," says Amy Cleveland, the organization's mentoring chair. She describes the visit from the fifth graders at Orchard Place School in Des Plaines as "one step in Promote 360's intent to promote a cycle of minority empowerment by advocating for higher rates of college participation among minority students."
Promote 360 used a number of mini challenges and exercises to help the fifth graders learn about some of the skills necessary to succeed in college, such as teamwork and budgeting. In addition, a session that taught break dancing gave students a taste of the recreational aspects of college.
"The children all showed a genuine interest in the activities we had for them and seemed to have a great time. I believe that this was a memorable event for them that increased their interest in and knowledge of college," Cleveland says. "These students are a part of an initiative that begins teaching students at an early age about their local colleges so that higher education seems less intimidating and becomes a reachable goal."
Another event that Promote 360 hosted earlier this year was a lecture/discussion on March 1 on the "hidden curriculum." The guest speakers were SESP professor Carol Lee and Karrie Snyder, a lecturer in the Department of Sociology. "It was a great overview of the way that culture and other factors influence educational attainment -- specifically performance on the SAT and other standardized tests," Cleveland notes. The discussion also provided a brief introduction to the significance of standardized tests in assessing the achievement gap nationally and internationally.
For spring quarter Promote 360 already has another mentoring event planned. A group of middle schoolers who have been pen pals with the Promote 360 members will visit campus in May. After a year of corresponding, the Northwestern students will meet their pen pals for the first time.
All SESP students are invited to join Promote 360. Meetings, which are open to all, are held at 9 p.m. every Monday in the second floor commons of Annenberg Hall.