MPowering Kids’ Students Visit Hofstra University

Event Helps Students Envision Going To College

 

Westbury, NY, May 27, 2005 — Students in the MPowering Kids program, a non-profit after-school program that provides tutoring, mentoring, and cultural enrichment for students in under-served communities, learned first-hand about attending college during a recent tour of Hofstra University. For many of the students, this was their first visit to a university campus.

A total of 29 MPowering Kids’ students attended the trip, and were chaperoned by twelve volunteers and MPowering Kids’ staff. Two MPowering Kids’ volunteers and current Hofstra University students – Liza Shortman and Kristy Pulsch – led the campus tour, which included stops at several classrooms, an art gallery, a dormitory, a dining hall and an auditorium. The students also enjoyed a stop at the baseball stadium, where they watched Hofstra battle Towson State University.

Helping Students Go To College
One of the primary goals of the MPowering Kids program is to equip promising, yet under-privileged children with the skills, habits, and attitudes necessary to succeed in college and in life. “Many of our students come from families where no one has attended college,” said Susan Marshall, founder and president of MPowering Kids. “My father was the son of immigrants and the first person in his family to attend college, and by doing so, he transformed his family’s future within one generation. We want to enable all of our students to make the same impact on their families’ futures.”

The visit to Hofstra is one of several educational and cultural events MPowering Kids organizes for students each year, and this particular event was designed to let students experience a college campus first-hand so that they can begin to visualize themselves attending college. Ms. Marshall noted, “Since we began taking the MPowering Kids’ students to visit college campuses, the kids talk a lot about where they are going to college. The teachers and guidance counselors have noticed a big difference. The MPowering Kids’ students are more focused than their peers on school and the goal of a college education.”

The MPowering Kids program is made possible through the generous support of individual and corporate sponsors. For additional information about MPowering Kids, please visit the About Us section or go to the Donations page to help support MPowering Kids.

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