BENTONVILLE -- Tadson Lang graduated from high school last year, unsure what he would do with the rest of his life. Then he found out about LIFE.
LIFE -- short for learning, improvement, fun and empowerment -- is a three-day program Northwest Arkansas Community College has put on every year since 2012 to inform high school students about the process of getting into college and how to be successful once they're there.
LIFE
Northwest Arkansas Community College has earned national recognition for its LIFE program. University Business magazine chose the college for its winter 2015 “Models of Excellence” program, which honors higher-education institutions for implementing “innovative, effective and inter-departmental initiatives that are bolstering student success,” according to the magazine’s website. The LIFE program was cited as the reason the college was chosen for the honor.
Source: Staff report
The high school students, most of whom are minorities, get to mingle with college administrators and mentors who are students at the college.
Lang, 19, participated in the program last year, a few weeks after graduating from Springdale's Har-Ber High School. The experience encouraged him to enroll at the college last fall. He plans to major in biology and pursue a career as a pathologist.
The program "opened up new ideas to me," Lang said.
He appreciated it so much, he's participating in this year's LIFE program, this time as one of eight college-student mentors.
Tuesday was the first day of the 2016 program. It ends with an awards ceremony Thursday night.
About 120 high school students from at least seven different Northwest Arkansas schools are participating, according to Codie Ryan, program director.
Ryan said the college has data to show the majority of those participating eventually will enroll at the college, though she couldn't provide an exact figure.
Most of the students involved are Hispanic. Hispanics made up 16.5 percent of the college's students during the 2015 fall semester, up from 11.8 percent in fall 2011, the year before LIFE started.
Lang said he came to the United States from the Marshall Islands as a toddler.
"A lot of Marshallese parents want us to pursue higher education, but many don't know how to help us in that area," Lang said. "This program gives you connections to people who do know."
The number of Marshallese students in the program is up from two last year to about 10 this year, Lang said.
Tuesday's agenda included presentations by some former students at the college. Rubicely Hernandez-Zamacona, who graduated from the college in 2013 and received her bachelor's degree from the University of Arkansas last year, talked about opportunity.
Hernandez-Zamacona's parents brought her to the United States from Mexico without legal documents when she was 11 years old. She has since obtained proper documents through President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.
But her initial status as undocumented prevented her from obtaining federal aid for college, so she had to dig for private scholarships.
"Sometimes you'd be surprised how many people don't apply for scholarships," Hernandez-Zamacona told students. "One scholarship I received because I was literally the only person who applied."
She encouraged students to be prepared for opportunities when they come up, to surround themselves with supportive people and not to be afraid of stepping out of their comfort zone.
Among those in the audience was Marco Ramirez, 19, who graduated last month from Bentonville High School. This is the third year Ramirez has attended the LIFE program.
"It's fun, exciting and you learn many things from the people who organize it," said Ramirez, a Bentonville native. "The speakers actually give you good advice."
Ramirez will start at the University of Central Arkansas this fall, a plan he attributes largely to what he learned through LIFE. He will be the first from his family to attend college, he said.
Participating students also have the opportunity to win awards and scholarships based on their engagement in the program and a short essay they are asked to write.
One of those scholarships is the result of LIFE mentors pooling their own money, Ryan said. The exact amount of that scholarship is still unknown.
The college puts about $10,000 each year into LIFE, according to Ryan. Sam's Club and Cox Communications are among the businesses providing support.
NW News on 06/15/2016