Impact Alabama, A+ College Ready and the University are partnering to create CollegeFirst, an initiative that lets high school students use a collegiate facility to advance their education. CollegeFirst is currently taking place at The University of Alabama.
Katie Beaver and Amanda Rushdi work as CollegeFirst coordinators in the AP Chemistry class.
“It helps them with the foundation of material so they can feel more confident going into those AP courses,” Rushdi said.
CollegeFirst works with high school students who are looking to get ahead by taking AP classes during the summer in preparation for the school year. The program gives students an overview of what AP classes will be like their next year in high school. These students meet on campus daily for three weeks during the month of June. Classes are offered in AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Calculus and AP English. Students receive hands-on experience and individual help with their work.
University of Alabama students are participating as mentors for the high school students. There are six mentors in the AP Chemistry class.
“It’s a lot more one-on-one. There’s a lot of mentors that are going around, and there’s obviously going to be a lecture portion where they learn the material, but it’s very hands on,” Beaver said. “They are able to do labs during the second half, and I think really get to know mentors and ask about college and admissions.”
Many of these university students are enrolled in UH 300 and receive course credit for their mentoring.
“In addition to serving as a mentor, classroom discussions and writing assignments focus on educational disparities and creative education reform initiatives,” said Heather Christensen, research project coordinator for the UA Center for Ethics & Social Responsibility. “CollegeFirst combines meaningful service, thoughtful reflection and classroom discussions to give students a more complete understanding of educational disparities and education reform.”
Patrick Mitchell, a junior majoring in operations management, is one of the mentors taking the UH 300 class. He said he likes showing the high school students that they are capable of doing collegiate-?level chemistry.
“Our number one job isn’t so much that they have to master this now because it is a pre-AP class. They will get this again in the fall. But [our goal is] that they understand that it’s possible for them to achieve success and motivate them to go to college,” Mitchell said. “Yesterday, for example, we pulled some thermo questions out of the Chemistry 101 textbook we use here at UA. We told them at the end, when they had done it completely, that they just did collegiate-level questions, and they were shocked they could do it.”
Jacob Fitch, a junior at Northridge High School, said he likes the in-depth learning he receives at CollegeFirst.
“It gives me a taste of what’s to come as far as college-level courses,” Fitch said. “I’m going to have to prioritize myself more when I get to college, because I see that it’s going to take a lot of hard work and dedication to be able to make ?good grades.”
