WSU Special Programs Student attend First Lady's Reach Higher Initiative at White House
Six students from programs under the Office of Special Programs at Wichita State University
were invited to attend the First Lady’s Reach Higher Initiative held at the White
House on July 23, 2015. The event was appropriately named “Beating the Odds Summit.”
The programs from Wichita State included Kansas Kids @ GEAR UP, Educational Talent
Search, and Upward Bound Math-Science Center. The following students attended: Austin
Carter and Jazarae Kelsey (Kansas Kids @ GEAR UP); Tajahnae Stocker and Melissa Tovar
(Educational Talent Search); and Nikki Allums and Charles Sayer (Upward Bound Math-Science
Center). The students are recent high school graduates and all are planning to attend
various postsecondary institutions in the fall.
Students attending the summit were from all parts of the country and treated to a
day of inspiration and encouragement from Michelle Obama and a host of other speakers
including a surprise visit by President Barack Obama. The Reach Higher initiative
is a program started by the First Lady with the hope of encouraging every student
in America to complete a postsecondary degree. A cast of motivational speakers including
Jaime Casap, chief education evangelist at Google, Education Secretary Arne Duncan,
Terrence Jenkins of E! News, and song artist and rapper, Olubowale Victor Akintimehin,
better known by his stage name Wale, shared their stories of struggle and success.
Mrs. Obama emphasized the value of working hard and believing in oneself as a key
in remaining in college and graduating with a degree. Each of the students from the
Wichita State programs were awed by the event and left Washington D.C. with a renewed
sense of urgency to commit to their postsecondary educational goals and a rejuvenated
spirit.
Carter and Kelsey are graduates of Washington High School in Kansas City and both
will be attending Kansas State University in the fall. Carter received a scholarship
from Shook, Hardy, and Bacon law firm in Kansas City and is undecided on a major.
Kelsey will major in mass communications at K-State. Stocker is a graduate of Wichita
Southeast High School and will major in marketing and public relations at Fort Hays
State University while Tovar is a Wichita North High School graduate and will attend
Washburn University as a criminal justice major. Both are Dell Scholars. Allums, also
a Dell Scholar, graduated from Sumner Academy in Kansas City and will attend Kansas
State University to study business administration/international business. Sayer graduated
from Hutchinson High School and will attend Wichita State to study engineering.
In addition to the students, Cathy Crist, Kansas Kids @ GEAR UP Region 2 coordinator,
Larry Ramos, director of Educational Talent Search, and Kaye Monk-Morgan, director
of Upward Bound Math-Science Center served as chaperones to the students and also
attended the event. The Office of Special Programs at Wichita State is spearheaded
by Deltha Q. Colvin, associate vice president for Student Affairs.