ACCD News & Events

SPC Fifth Annual Opportunities Workshop Introduces Middle Schoolers to College Experience

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2005
CONTACT: Roland Ruiz, Director of Public Relations, St. Philip's College
210/531-4851
rruiz@accd.edu

St. Philip’s College will hold its fifth annual “College Opportunities Workshop for Middle School Students: Today’s Achievers, Tomorrow’s Leaders” on Saturday, Oct. 15, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the school’s main campus (1801 Martin Luther King Drive). More than 300 area middle school students are expected to participate in the free event, which is designed to expose youth at a young age to the many college opportunities available to them upon high school graduation. More information is available by contacting the St. Philip’s College Office of Student Financial Services at 531-3274.

Planned activities for the day will focus on various aspects of preparing for college, including motivational talks, practical how-to tips on finding financial assistance and advice on preparing academically. In addition, the college’s Natural Science Department will offer information on science and help to students and parents with possible science fair projects. The event’s keynote speaker will be U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Michael Matthews, a current St. Philip’s College student and veteran of the war in Iraq. Video presentations, campus tours and door prizes, including drawings for scholarships also will be provided along with breakfast and lunch.

The College Opportunities Workshop addresses research indicating that decisions made before high school can profoundly affect students’ perceptions and access to college.

This data shows that while two-thirds of eighth graders say they plan to attend college, only one-third actually enroll for college prep courses, and that low-income students in particular often assume they cannot go to college because of perceived barriers that, in reality, do not exist.

St. Philip’s College, one of the Alamo Community Colleges serving the greater Bexar County region, is a comprehensive community college designated as both a Historically Black College and a Hispanic Serving Institution. St. Philip’s College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.