CruBlog

Four high school Crusaders from Providence were chosen for the Lifespan Summer Youth Employment Program for 2009. They are Patricia Silverio, Kevin Porras, Stephanie Jimenez, and Stephanie Taveras. They will work in a Lifespan facility for nine weeks this summer, gaining firsthand experience as employees in the multidisciplinary healthcare industry. Congratulations to all of them, and our best wishes for a productive summer!

On June 24, students from the High School Crusade Advisory Board delivered a check for $2,500 to The Tomorrow Fund, which provides daily financial and emotional support to children with cancer and their families receiving treatment at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence. The High School CAB raised the funds as a community service project by sponsoring a walkathon that involved students from 16 high schools throughout Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence, and Woonsocket.

The CAB members presented the check in person to Barbara Ducharme, Executive Director, and Lisa Cantore, Child Life Specialist. They also toured the new Tomorrow Fund clinic and learned about the services it provides for young hematology and oncology patients and their families.

Congratulations and thanks to all the students in our dedicated High School CAB this year for creating such a successful community service project!

Brian Estrada, a graduating Crusader at Mount Pleasant High School, is traveling to San Francisco next month to attend a special Youth Leadership Summit on education. The event is sponsored by the National Council for Community and Education Partnerships (NCCEP) and takes place July 18-22. Brian will represent Rhode Island as one of only 30 students selected nationwide this year to attend. His traveling companion is Dwayne Clement, the College Crusade Advisor from Mount Pleasant, who will also attend the summit.

The application for attending the summit was competitive. NCCEP selected students from across the country based on academic achievement, leadership experience, an essay, and letters of recommendation. During the five-day event, all the participants will work together to develop ideas that educators can use to improve student achievement.

Brian is an honor student at Mount Pleasant High. Last year he was a team captain in Negotiations for Leaders, a student program sponsored by Raytheon Company. For the past two years he was vice president of Teens on Target, a violence prevention program at the school. He plans to attend Johnson & Wales University next fall.

We also congratulate 14 other accomplished Crusaders who were nominated by their Advisors and wrote applications for consideration by NCCEP. They are: Michael Calderon, Central High School; Inez Diaz, Providence Academy of International Studies; Stephanie Estrada, Mount Pleasant High School; Abisag Flores, Woonsocket High School; Raul Garcia, Shea High School; Marcelo Lopez, Hope High School; Kyle McCarthy, Textron Chamber of Commerce Academy; Daniela Moreno, Shea High School; Crystal Morillo, Woonsocket High School; Vanessa Penate, Central Falls High School; Jalizza Ramos, Woonsocket High School; Stephanie Tavares, Hope High School; Emerson Toloza, Tolman High School; and Vanessa Xavier, Shea High School.

College Crusade Advisor Dwayne Clement celebrated recently with Crusader twins Richelene and Cindy Cesar, who are graduating from Mount Pleasant High School this spring. The Cesar twins entered Rhode Island College’s Pathways Through College program in January and have now earned 15 college credits toward their freshman year at RIC, where they will start classes in the fall!

Read more about all the Pathways Through College 2009 grads in Jennifer Jordan’s recent story for The Providence Journal.

Estefania Clavijo, a 7th-grade Crusader at Samuel Slater Junior High School in Pawtucket, was named Most Improved Student and was honored by the Pawtucket Red Sox this spring! On May 6, she participated in a recognition ceremony at McCoy Stadium along with dozens of other middle school and high school students from all over Rhode Island.

Estefania is very serious about her studies and always tries to do her best. “Her participation both in the Crusade and at school has been exceptional,” says Jenniffer Rivera, the College Crusade Advisor at Slater. “She is a hard working student and dedicated to every task that comes her way.”

Congratulations to a fine Crusader and student!

Providence middle school Advisors Mayamu Kamara and Kevin Montoya will attend the annual Children, Youth & Families at Risk Conference in Baltimore next week, July 19-21. Mayamu (Perry Middle School) and Kevin (Nathanael Greene Middle School) have been hosting afterschool science workshops for Crusaders this year in partnership with a CYFAR grant project at the University of Rhode Island. They will be representing The College Crusade as members of the URI project team.

To read more about the afterschool science workshops that Crusaders enjoyed this year, see this post and this post.

On April 28, our high school Crusade Advisory Board gathered to discuss a new college guidebook published by the Center for Student Opportunity, in Bethesda, Md. CSO staff member Joseph Tavares, project coordinator for the College Access & Opportunity Guide, was on hand to run the focus group and to record feedback from Crusaders. The comments from students are an important part of evaluating the effectiveness of the guidebook, which the CSO is undertaking with a grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation. Crusade Family Engagement Coordinator Carolyn Beltran and Parent Liaison Enma Velazquez also participated in the focus group sessions.

On Saturday, April 18, a total of 105 middle school Crusaders gathered at the Unistructure building at Bryant University for our spring Career Day. The keynote presenter was Richard Rose, Project Safe Neighborhoods and Anti-Gang Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Rhode Island. Mr. Rose challenged Crusaders to take their college goals seriously and to realize that success takes hard work. He shared stories about his own background and about young people who have overcome obstacles and achieved their career goals. Getting an education, he said, is the most important thing you can do for yourself!

For the next two hours, Crusaders then went to different classrooms to learn about a variety of career fields. Our volunteer career speakers for the day were: Chris Gruttadauria, Project Manager, CVS; Mike Ritz, Development Director, The Genesis Center (and creator of the video I Heart Providence); Kathi Duffy, RDH, MS, Assistant Professor, Dental Hygiene Program, CCRI; Scott Smith, Operations Supervisor and Air Traffic Controller, Federal Aviation Authority; Elizabeth Galligan, President, Newberry Public Relations; Tracy Morkunas, CPA, Senior Accountant, Bryant University; Tom Schmitt, Firefighter, Cranston Fire Department; Carole McLaughlin, Attorney, RI Attorney General’s Office; and Wayne Park, Toy Designer, Hasbro.

We are very grateful to everyone for making time to talk with Crusaders about their work!

Chris Gruttadauria of CVS (at center) described his job as a marketing expert to Crusaders who attended his Career Day session.

Even with the beautiful weather on their last day of school vacation, 51 high school juniors packed into the Providence Academy of International Studies on Friday, April 17, for our 2009 Getting to College Conference. The first event on the agenda was a panel discussion presented by college-bound Crusade seniors Julio Cabral, Hannah Shaw, and Bryant Estrada. They shared their experiences of the college application process and offered fellow Crusaders great advice about how to get through senior year – stay organized, ask for help when you need it, and don’t stress out!

Other activities during the day were workshops in researching colleges, building your resume, and practicing on a mock college application. Revolution Prep traveled from the Boston area to give Crusaders an orientation to the SAT and ACT tests. The afternoon also featured essay-writing workshops held by Ralph Tavares, assistant director of admission for Salve Regina University, and Priscilla Alicea, associate director of admission for Bryant University.

Crusaders, are you on schedule with college planning and ready for your senior year? If you were not able to attend our conference, check out the timetable on our College Planning Tips page. Any time you have questions, just get in touch.

Today ends a whirlwind week of college visits for Crusaders. Busloads of middle school and high school students have been heading off for campus destinations all over Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts and Connecticut. There was a special surprise for high school Crusaders who attended the visit to Salve Regina University in Newport on Wednesday – reporter Gina Macris from the Providence Journal came along for the tour! She joined us for a lively info session with Ralph Tavares, assistant director of admissions, and then we walked through Salve’s beautiful campus on a student-guided tour. During lunch, Gina spoke with several Crusaders to learn about their Crusade experience and to hear about their college plans. She interviewed Irving Robinson, Inez Diaz, Lizely Escobar, Danny Reyes, and Niurka Quinonez. The next day, Gina met up with Crusaders returning from a visit to Clark University in Worcester. She interviewed Lawrence Reed and Mani Lyles to see how they enjoyed their trip. Gina also spoke with Reuben Tillman about his role as a College Crusade Advisor. Don’t miss Gina’s story online in the ProJo!