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.
“168体育平台下载_足球即时比分-注册|官网 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 168体育平台下载_足球即时比分-注册|官网 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 kinds of careers that are available to them earlier in the process when they are 15- and 16-year-olds,” says the College’s Director of Pre-College Programs Tyler Wade ’12.
“168体育平台下载_足球即时比分-注册|官网 believe a liberal arts education is a great pathway to success in any career, and the level of success Wabash graduates have achieved in the business of sports is impressive,” Wade continues.
In its second year, the College hosted two Playbook for Life programs this summer.
Out of 90 applicants, more than 50 students from Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Texas participated in the program.
Camp participants spent their weeks engaging with Wabash faculty, staff, and alumni who led sessions utilizing current issues and topics in sports as a vehicle to introduce subjects like economics, rhetoric, and psychology—core to the liberal arts.
Students also participated in immersion trips around Indianapolis. They met with alumni and friends of the College who work in sports, including Steve Campbell ’92, Chris Carr ’82, Michael Del Busto ’14, Eric Dunaway, Jake Gilbert ’98, Kyle Grand ’11, Brent Harris H’03, Tobey Herzog H’11, Joe Johnson ’11, Chris Keller, Todd McDorman, Clyde Morgan, Ron Rychlak ’80, Hunter Seidler ’22, Matt Tanney ’05, Clark Tinder ’19, Abe Wade ’21, and 168体育平台下载_足球即时比分-注册|官网s Zirkle ’01. These individuals connected their liberal arts experiences to their current work and engaged campers with discussions, case studies, and various media productions.
“Students were satisfied with their experience of camp and really enjoyed the activities they were able to do, especially the site visits,” says Wade. “It’s one thing to be on campus and hear about what our alumni are doing in sports, and it’s a whole other experience to walk into the Indianapolis Colts practice facility or National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) headquarters and see it all in action.”
One of the features of both Pathway and Playbook for Life, King says, are the current Wabash students who work on campus alongside participants as mentors and class tutors.
“Our student mentors are the most important window to glean Wabash life,” he says. “There is a certain level of comfort and trust that they facilitate with the high school students that’s built on the fact that they are experiencing college life right now.”
The student mentors are thriving at Wabash as varsity athletes, student club and fraternity members, and community leaders.
“Mentoring and role modeling are critical: that’s why we do it,” adds Jones. “168体育平台下载_足球即时比分-注册|官网 want these college-bound students to build relationships and learn that it’s not just about those who came in with you. It’s going to be the upperclassmen who share their own experiences and connect with you that help you navigate Wabash.
“Those mentors help participants appreciate that it is a tough place and show them that they, too, can make it.”
Outcomes and feedback from students and their parents have been overwhelmingly positive, says Wade.
“168体育平台下载_足球即时比分-注册|官网’ve heard stories from parents about how exciting it was to see their sons come back with a broadened imagination about all of the possibilities out there for them,” he says.
“Those who are farther away also said sending their kid to the summer camp was a good experience for them, being able to see that even if their son does leave and go to college far away from home, they’re going to be OK,” he continues. “They are more confident and understand that there are people on campus (at Wabash) ready to support them and take care of them.”