SILVER SPRING CIVICS PROGRAM BLOG
Amare*, a participant and immigrant youth from Ethiopia in our Silver Spring program, was elected as the Fall 2009 President. Check out what he has to say about our Silver Spring program below!
December 8, 2009: As usual, we ate pizza and drank soda. Before our guest arrived we discussed what kind of colleges we like in terms of size. Then we had a guest speaker, Ms. Celia Gamboa, she is a counselor for undergraduates at the University of Maryland. She talked to us about the process what they will look for when reviewing the application. Having as many activities, good GPA, high SAT score as well as taking honors and AP classes increases the chance of getting into schools like the University of Maryland
December 3, 2009: We ate pizza and drank soda. We discussed about current events before our guest speaker arrived. Then we had Mr. John Ng from BB&T Bank. He talked to us about credit and debit cards as well as their difference. He also warned us to not get in trouble while using it.
November 24, 2009: At first, we discussed about current events while eating pizza and drinking soda. Then we had a guest speaker, Ms. Selam Daniel. She basically told us her powerful and life touching story. She told us to not discourage and keep on trying. Also, talking and knowing someone is very important. Even though she didn’t have enough money she went to MIT and Harvard University and today she is very successful. In addition, we learned that education can do anything, but not money. Also, being “excellent” at all times is one of the most important characteristics we need to succeed in our lives as well as being ourselves.
November 19, 2009: As usual, we ate pizza and drank soda. While we waited for our guest speaker, Darrel Burns. We discussed about current events. Ms. Austin and K’ai told us how to ace an interview. We really appreciated it. So then we had our guest speaker, Mr. Burns. He was from Montgomery Works and he is a Youth Employment Specialist. He entertained and educated us. So Mr. Burns spoke to us about how working hard, respecting ourselves and others, and being responsible are vital to becoming successful in our lives. Mr. Burns and his organization help students find a job and walk students through all the processes. So, please take advantage of this unique opportunity by calling or emailing Mr. Burns at: dburns@montgomeryworks.com Tel: 240- 778-9542
November 17, 2009: First we ate pizza and drank soda. Then we had a tour of Montgomery College, in Silver Spring and we had our presenter, Ms. Diana Benson. She spoke to us a lot about college, scholarships, careers, and financial aid. Diana and her colleague are willing to help students who need help with something that has to do with college. Also, students must call and make an appointment in advance, before going there. You can contact her at:Diana.Benson@montgomerycollege.edu Tel: (240) 567-5642 . Also, this is a great website to explore careers, salary and a lot more, so check it out! http://www.bls.gov/OCO/ Lastly, to learn more about colleges and universities, scholarships and careers in MD, are listed on Maryland Higher Education Commission home page: http://www.mhec.state.md.us/
November 12, 2009: Before the guests arrived we ate pizza and drank soda.Wow!! What a great day to learn about colleges and scholarships. We had three guest speakers.
Our first guest speaker was Wendy and she is from Montgomery College. She talked to us about almost everything about Montgomery College and how students can get a lot of money. She also told us that many scholarships are available. Our second guest speaker was Sarah from the Herb Block Scholarship organization. We learned that their scholarship is basd on financial need. She also told us about Herb Block and how he owned his own business. Our third guest speaker was Debbie and she is from the New Futures Organization. She spoke to us about their scholarship and the requirements and told us that they give to serious students. They give priority to students looking to get a degree in 2 years or shorter. At the end, we asked any questions we had.
November 10, 2009: We had fun and also learned a lot. First we ate pizza and drank soda. Then we discussed about current events. Later Jose came and showed some pictures around the studio and talked about the themes. After that, a gust speaker Ms. Tcheyan from College Tracks USA located at Wheaton High School came and talked to us. She spoke to us about colleges, standardized tests, SAT and ACT.
November 5, 2009: We ate pizza and drank soda. We learned more about Chris Van Hollen and discussed if it’s appropriate to burn a flag in terms of freedom of expression, before our guest speaker. Later we had our guest speaker, Lillian Cruz, who was introduced by our President. Lillian is from Chris Van Hollen’s [our representative] office and closely works with him. She spoke more about him and also about government and how we can get involved ourselves, especially on the issues that are really important to us and internship opportunities. For more on the internship opportunity, please visit this website: http://vanhollen.house.gov/ConstituentServices/Internships.htm
November 3, 2009: We ate pizza and drank soda. We discussed about current events and later we went to a fire station to learn about a fire station, opportunities and volunteer services available. The fire fighters showed us the equipments available in the fire station. We also learned that we don’t need a degree to become a fire fighter but it’s really important to have a degree for whatever reason.
October 22, 2009: We had our sixth meeting. At first we ate pizza and drank soda. Then we took a survey about what we want the most out of the Civic Education Program and where we want to go for D.C. Later we had a guest speaker Mr. Gustavo Gutierrez who was introduced to us by myself, the President. Mr. Gutierrez is a public defender and represented people who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer, but he gets pay from the government. He spoke to us about his childhood experience and educational background. When he was teenager like us, he made bad choices. So he advised us to not do the same thing and take the right path before it’s too late.
October 29, 2009: We ate pizza and drank soda. We discussed about current events. We played jeopardy and the topics for jeopardy were Montgomery County, Congress, Washington DC, College and Chris Van Hollen. Also, we learned about Chris Van Hollen (our representative).
October 27, 2009: As usual we ate pizza and drank soda. We played a game. We didn’t actually know the name of the game but we all liked it and got to learn about each other. After the game, we had a guest speaker, Mr. Jose Dominguez. He mainly talked to us about human needs. Afterward, we cleaned up the room and left.
*Not Students Real Name
