I grew up in Flint, Michigan, where I recently have been fortunate to complete Mott Community College and am looking forward to continuing my education at University Michigan in the Fall. Unfortunately, many other young people in Flint will not experience the same opportunities. This can be for a wide range of personal reasons, but often, students just don’t know they have access to higher education. It has always saddened me because I know the youth in Flint can do much better and achieve much more. A way to overcome barriers, be it socio-economic or being from a traditionally underrepresented background, is through education. I want to empower youth all over the country to understand why going to college is vital and that there are programs that will help students throughout their journeys toward better futures.
Another reason many teenagers overlook pursuing a postsecondary education is because they don’t know what they want to do for a career or even have the slightest clue about all the occupations that are out there. If we start showing students possibilities of jobs they could do in the future, they would start planning accordingly. My goal is to start setting up seminars that will allow youth to speak to a range of professionals, particularly in high-paying fields, such as doctors, nurses, attorneys, social workers, engineers, business owners, and more, so students can start to get a feel of possible career choices.
Postsecondary education is becoming increasingly necessary to succeed in our modern day world. Georgetown University released a not so shocking statistic that by 2020, 65 percent of all jobs in the economy will require postsecondary education and training beyond high school. It is imperative that young people are made aware of opportunities that can afford them a college degree. As a generation, we must push for a greater level of access to higher education for all students regardless of their background. Job shadowing, mentoring informational session, teaching financial literacy and internships such as this are vital to the revitalization of this generation.