The opportunity to witness high-potential youth confront challenges and transform themselves is the main motivator for a local community organization providing key tools to Hispanic, African-American, Asian and white students.
C5 Georgia offers a five-year development program for at risk youth, combining college readiness with community service and leadership development, among other skills.
“Students start when they’re in seventh grade, and their first experience with us is four weeks of camp, where we get them out of their environment, out of their comfort zone and we teach them 21st century skills such as independence and teamwork,” explained Shana Bagley, director of operations for C5 Georgia.
After these initial experiences, added Bagley, participants are taught about the importance of a college education and how to access financial assistance resources, a challenge for these youth who, by and large, will be the first in their families to attend college.
Tania Domínguez and Karla Chávez, two Centennial High School students who were recently admitted to Harvard University, have been involved with the program for the past five years. According to the young women, their participation with C5 allowed them to develop key skills that have helped them to overcome personal obstacles, including their status as undocumented immigrants.
The organization works with local schools to identify students like Domínguez and Chávez, who are high-potential but require additional support to get ahead.
Joselyn Gutierrez, a C5 participant, was the recipient of a $2,500 scholarship courtesy of WestRock, which was awarded during an event put on by the organization, ‘An Evening with Graduates.’ Gutierrez has been admitted to Emory University.
“We help students to identify the power they have to make changes. A shy person can find leadership and determine, “There’s no reason why people who weren’t born here can’t have access to a quality college education,’ for example. So by giving them skills and conviction, they can rise above,” explained Chandra Stephens-Albright, executive director of C5 Georgia.
The program currently has 292 participants and looks for three main qualities in its students: potential — which does not mean perfect grades, but rather the desire to achieve more; the need for support; and a disposition to work hard.
“We look for students who need support, so it might be that they are in the free or reduced cost lunch program, or they might be from a single parent household or be the child of immigrants or the first in their family to attend college,” said Bagley.
According to Stephens-Albright, the greatest reward the organization receives from their efforts is seeing the development of the students and the potential that it represents for their own lives and also for their communities.
“They recognize where they come from and that it doesn’t make any difference in what they can achieve. There’s nothing like sitting in a classroom with a 7th grade student and interviewing them and realizing that they have a lot to say, but they don’t know how to say it, and five years later seeing how they have transformed. It’s incredible,” assured Stephens-Albright.
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