Another Cat Has Become More Like a Lion...
Emily Breines, the teacher, has projected a slide onto the wall of a classroom in the downtown YWCA. It’s easy to see a cat in the foreground. The cat is looking in a mirror.
But what’s being reflected back?
Edwin Andrade, one of the students, raises his hand.
“A lion,” he says. And he smiles a smile of recognition.
Turning cats into lions is, in a nutshell, what a program called Beyond Talent tries to accomplish. It works with young Washingtonians—typically between 18 and 30—to help them hone their skills and self-confidence so they are ready for college. It is in the backbone construction and reconstruction business.
The program is in its seventh year. It has taught about 350 students in that time, about 100of them in 2009.
Most of the students left traditional high schools at some point. Some have gotten GED diplomas, but many have not. All are united in their desire to learn more in two-year or four-year colleges, so they can earn more. But many—if not most—lack the belief that they can achieve very much in the academic arena.
Edwin Andrade, 19, is an excellent example. He dropped out of Northwestern High School in Hyattsville three years ago.
“I didn’t like it,” he said. “It just wasn’t fun. For a while, I didn’t do nothing. I was in the streets and stuff.”
A succession of low-paying, no-future jobs followed. His current one pays him $8 an hour to clean office buildings.
“I want to go to college,” Andrade said. “Then I want to get into business. I’ve always wanted to do that.” Beyond Talent is “doing good” at helping him get there.
Ellie Phillips, the founder and executive director of Beyond Talent, said that “no other organization is really focusing on this population. Very often, they don’t think beyond the immediacy of get a paycheck, get through the day.” That’s why Beyond Talent drills them not just on academic fundamentals, but on attitudes—self-confidence, self-awareness, assertiveness, alertness.
About five percent of Beyond Talent’s $75,000 annual budget comes from donors to United Way of the National Capital Area. Ellie Phillips is very enthusiastic about the partnership because it didn’t exist before 2009.
“New sources of funds are what we always need, and United Way is one of those sources,” she said. At the front of the room, Emily Breines has projected a new slide. The word “self-confidence” is right in the center.
“If you’re self-confident, what does it mean?” she asks. Edwin Andrade raises his hand.
“It means you take more chances on stuff. Like those reasonable risks we were talking about,” he says.
Emily Breines smiles and nods. Yet another cat has become more like a lion.
But what’s being reflected back?
Edwin Andrade, one of the students, raises his hand.
“A lion,” he says. And he smiles a smile of recognition.
Turning cats into lions is, in a nutshell, what a program called Beyond Talent tries to accomplish. It works with young Washingtonians—typically between 18 and 30—to help them hone their skills and self-confidence so they are ready for college. It is in the backbone construction and reconstruction business.
The program is in its seventh year. It has taught about 350 students in that time, about 100of them in 2009.
Most of the students left traditional high schools at some point. Some have gotten GED diplomas, but many have not. All are united in their desire to learn more in two-year or four-year colleges, so they can earn more. But many—if not most—lack the belief that they can achieve very much in the academic arena.
Edwin Andrade, 19, is an excellent example. He dropped out of Northwestern High School in Hyattsville three years ago.
“I didn’t like it,” he said. “It just wasn’t fun. For a while, I didn’t do nothing. I was in the streets and stuff.”
A succession of low-paying, no-future jobs followed. His current one pays him $8 an hour to clean office buildings.
“I want to go to college,” Andrade said. “Then I want to get into business. I’ve always wanted to do that.” Beyond Talent is “doing good” at helping him get there.
Ellie Phillips, the founder and executive director of Beyond Talent, said that “no other organization is really focusing on this population. Very often, they don’t think beyond the immediacy of get a paycheck, get through the day.” That’s why Beyond Talent drills them not just on academic fundamentals, but on attitudes—self-confidence, self-awareness, assertiveness, alertness.
About five percent of Beyond Talent’s $75,000 annual budget comes from donors to United Way of the National Capital Area. Ellie Phillips is very enthusiastic about the partnership because it didn’t exist before 2009.
“New sources of funds are what we always need, and United Way is one of those sources,” she said. At the front of the room, Emily Breines has projected a new slide. The word “self-confidence” is right in the center.
“If you’re self-confident, what does it mean?” she asks. Edwin Andrade raises his hand.
“It means you take more chances on stuff. Like those reasonable risks we were talking about,” he says.
Emily Breines smiles and nods. Yet another cat has become more like a lion.
posted by Bob Levey's United Way at
8:02 AM
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