Sisseline Lovejoy, Sadie Nystrom and Maya Osvald
Photo by: Ari Wilson
In April, fourteen students of color flew to Virginia to tour Historically Black Universities and Colleges (HBCUs) with three staff members of color. The tour gave students the opportunity to imagine life at these colleges, while connecting with other students of color.
The student success coordinator Wil Cason leads an advisory group specifically for young men of color. In addition, counselor Tedra Grogans, middle school teacher Camille Fisher, and Cason, created a coordinating group for young women of color. These groups were the motivation and main focus for this trio. Cason says that the trip is “like a door opening for students. They open the door, then they can see a whole world of possibilities, some things that they probably have never imagined before.”
Being able to tour colleges that feel different from Californian schools helps students imagine themselves in other environments that they might not otherwise be able to see. Cason emphasizes this part of the trip’s experience, saying, “I know for me, I’m 3,000 miles away from the town that I grew up in. If I didn’t have exposure to college, you know, from going from Lakeland, Florida to travel to San Jose State University, I probably would have never left my community.”
Students share this sentiment. Theo Morris, who went on the trip, says, “it was just a really nice connection to my history and the history of Virginia, and have a deeper understanding of what it is to be african-american and what we’ve been through”. He also mentions how it helped him think about his future and choices after high school, saying, “[It] really helped me pick my options of where I want to go and what places im looking for, because before the trip I didn’t even even know what I wanted in a college”.
Campus supervisor Johnny Paulding, who also chaperoned the trip, says, “I can only wish that I had this when I was in high school. We had something like this, but it was more of a black history program. I wish I had someone that would show me about colleges other than in California.”
The impact of seeing a more diverse community of students is another driving factor when planning the HBCU trip. Grogans explains, “we found it would be helpful for students who don’t have a large population of themselves here to be able have a small community in which they can feel like they can be themselves and open up and also have a staff person who looks like them as well to be able to support them.” At Albany High School, only four percent of students identify as African-American.
Grogans continues, detailing her experience working with the Young Women of Color group: “Because there’s times where students of color can be in a classroom and not see anyone who looks like them, having an advisory class where everyone in there kinda looks like them or is of color can make someone feel safe.”
Junior Ari Wilson, who also went on the HBCU field trip, says, “All of these colleges were made because African-American people weren’t getting an opportunity in education.” he adds, “it was super nice being able to see what was built by my people, what was built by my ancestors, the people in the past, you know?”
