The District Chronicles

Issue date: 3/29/09 Section: Neighborhood

Media Credit: kwame08.com

Recently, At-Large Councilmember Kwame R. Brown escorted approximately 100 District seniors, juniors and recent high school graduates to the College Round-Up in Tarboro, North Carolina. It was a successful day with most students being accepted to one or more colleges on the spot. The College Round-Up is an annual college fair organized by founder Bob Whitehead and Program Director Fay Smith. Councilmember Brown committed to raise enough funding to cover the cost of hosting the fair at Edgecombe Community College for the next five years.

"The most important thing is that the students get there and apply," said Councilmember Brown who is driven by a personal story. He recalls his experience as a struggling student with little-to-no college prospects. "It wasn't until someone convinced me and my friends to go to a college fair that I was accepted to college. I wouldn't be here today had I not listened to that advice."

Over 30 historical black colleges and universities gather annually at Edgecombe Community College for the College Round-Up. The event is a flagship program designed to help underserved and underprivileged students obtain a post-secondary education at HBCUs by helping with the selection, admissions, and financial aid process.

Students bring copies of their transcripts and apply to colleges by speaking directly with admissions representatives from the various schools. This is a unique opportunity because the application fees are waived allowing students to apply to multiple schools in a short period of time. Students acknowledged that they would not have been able to apply to as many colleges had the fees not been waived.

Students were accepted into colleges across the United States including, Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, NC; Denmark Technical College in Denmark, SC; and Hampton University in Hampton, VA.

Councilmember Brown is familiar with the experience after leading 45 students to Tarboro last year. 44 of the 45 students were accepted into college. The success of the trip inspired Councilmember Brown to double student participation. Students attending represented a wide range of high schools in the District including Anacostia, Ballou, Cardozo, CHOICE, Duke Ellington, Dunbar, McKinley Tech, Roosevelt, and Spingarn.

The College Round-Up began with motivational speeches from previous participants Kaiem L. Frink and Uniquiea Wade. Following the speeches, District students began going table-to-table applying to colleges. Jnai Earle was the first student from the District to get an acceptance letter. She was accepted to St. Paul's College in Lawrenceville, VA. She was excited about her achievement exclaiming, "I'm only 17!"

Curtis Robinson, a Dunbar senior, was accepted into Benedict College, Livingstone College and Shaw University. When asked about the College Round-Up he said, "It's great - it gets you open to different opportunities." Robinson was leaning towards Livingstone College because of his interest in football.

"This is personal to me," said Councilmember Brown. "To often District students are told what they can't do. This proves to them that they have endless potential as long as they're willing to try. We should all be proud of what they accomplished."

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