Campus Kids
Campus Kids are wowed about shake tables at the Engineering Lab
Our Mottos:
- “Knowledge is Power!”
- “Education beats Vegetation!”
- “Diversity is respecting each other’s differences!”
- “Be an Independent Thinker!”
- “Drugs don’t Mix with Education!”
Campus Kids is a 2009 Summer Youth Stimulus Program provided by the Nevada Small Business Development Center at the College of Business, University of Nevada, Reno through a grant awarded by NevadaWorks. It was fully funded to employ 8 college students, 12 teenagers, a program director, HR manager, Tycoon Lemonade instructor, web developer and other various positions during the 2009 summer term. We have zero funding this year, but because of the passion I share with Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows directors, Campus Kids lives on in the summer of 2010 even without the support of so many positions. We will also limit the “camp” to Tuesdays only. But we will make a difference and we will influence the 200+ kids who do come to campus this summer to choose education because, after all, Knowledge IS Power!
Campus Kids learn entrepreneurial basics selling lemonade.
The “Birth of Campus Kids” blossomed with consideration that our State is ranked far above most in high school dropout rates, and a sense of professional responsibility became apparent that we, as employees of higher education, do more! In a time when Nevada’s educational systems were being cut to shreds, it made sense to create a new initiative that regards education as the single, most important component of a healthy economy and society.
When I learned about our State’s “Summer Youth Stimulus Program” grants, the opportunity was there to at least try to use entrepreneurial creativity that has been my agency’s motto for two decades. In writing this grant, I imagined using college students with a broad diversity in academic pursuits to act as youth mentors to teenagers who may be struggling with their own identity, their own futures, and their own self-direction. Both college students and teens could be trained to develop their own work readiness skills while influencing a couple hundred kids in our region to stay in school, study, and think about choosing a college path in their futures.
The birth of “Campus Kids” was in motion! The biggest challenge was initially the logistics of the kids – how could we get 40 kids per week, for 6 weeks, to our campus? After a fast-talking, brief conversation with Mike Wurm from the Boys & Girls Club of Truckee Meadows, it became crystal clear that our kids would all originate from BGCTM!
Less than 12% of Nevada’s college population is from low-income families. With this disturbing statistic, another of many questions came up: why aren’t more kids from low income enrolling in college? Let’s face it – many of us became low income during our college years, and it’s part of the journey! Living with a multitude of roommates, eating Ramon repeatedly, and making sacrifices is what it takes! Why doesn’t our campus population reflect that of our community?
Campus Kids ready to march across the famous Quad at UNR experiencing what a college graduation is like.
Kids have to believe they have the right to choose college, and they need to believe it when they enter Kindergarten and keep on believing it each year. This mindset must be reinforced every step of the way, so how could our program help? You guessed it – bring them to campus! But not for any academic experience, and certainly not for just a day…bring them in for 4 days, and show them everything except the academic side! Kids aren’t stupid – they know a classroom and teacher are part of it. What they don’t know lies in touring, exploring, playing, listening, asking questions and learning on-site from inspired young people, and some of us older ones who passionately influence their lives!
