While people went bike riding, enjoyed local sports games or watched college football at home this past Saturday, local students from Eagle County Schools spent their weekend being introduced to the college process.

The Pre-Collegiate Development Program, offered by the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, is being presented again to middle school and high school students through Saturday Academy workshops and Summer Program courses. This free program promotes the advantages and value of taking the right steps in secondary education in order to have a successful post-secondary experience.

The majority of people who have attended college did not start the process when they were in middle school. The statistics show, less than one percent of the U.S. 2007 fall enrollment population in degree-granting institutions was between the ages of 14 to 17 (National Center for Educational Statistics, http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=98, 2008). The Development Program targets young students, though, to help on academic preparation, opportunity, support, and exposure necessary to attain a higher education and reach their potential.

Josephine Benavidez, of the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and her colleagues spent a September Saturday teaching the students career options, scholarship opportunities and great resources that will aid in the big decisions to come after high school. “The best students are the ones who come prepared,” said Benavidez. “Be a leader and get involved in extra-curricular activities in high school to prepare you for all the experiences to have in college.”

Nicole Daigle, eighth grader at Eagle Valley Middle School, was introduced to the program last year. “The information on scholarships, the SAT test and how to best prepare for college were a great help last year,” said Daigle. “This year we focused on the many career paths available.” Daigle has aspirations of massage therapy from years of growing up in the Eagle Valley giving back rubs to her father. She has been able to hone her skills by reading books and learning about the many possibilities college has to offer. Though she understands she has some time to decide her career, she believes this program is a great way to start understanding what is out there.

The Pre-Collegiate Development Program started over twenty years ago at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs with 75 students and has grown to provide more than 700 students, 85 from Eagle County, with guidance on the path to college. The success of this program is high with 96% of the students going on to pursue a college opportunity last year.

This will be the first year the program will offer high school students in Eagle County Schools the chance to get an early start on the college process. Nicholas Tafoya is new to Eagle Valley High School and the Pre-Collegiate Development Program.

“Everyone knows that the choices you make in school will only get more difficult, and I feel this program better prepares me for those choices,” said Tafoya. “I have wanted to either go into the Military or earn a computer engineering degree for most of my life growing up here.”

The program also offers students the chance to visit the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs’ to take part in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Program this past June. Daigle and twenty-two other students were able to stay in the dorms for a night and attend college-style workshops for two days at the University.

The High School Summer Academic Program is offered to juniors for five weeks. Students have a chance to take courses for college credit, get started on the college application process, receive scholarship assistance and experience college life before they graduate from high school.

A requirement for students who are interested in this program is that they come from families in which neither parent graduated from college, though, Benavidez has taken consideration in opening up the program to all students. The students must maintain a grade point average of 3.00 through high school to academically motivate students wanting to be on the fast-track for scholarships and college-readiness.

“I am interested in what the five-week summer program is about and all the benefits of the program,” said Tafoya. “This Saturday workshop has given me a better idea of taking college courses in high school and how much it will help me with my college dream.”

Wanting to pursue a college degree is not the only reoccurring conversation for these young students. They understand the important information they are receiving and how it will help them in the long run.

“If I didn’t sign up for this program, I know I would have missed out on a great opportunity,” said Daigle. “My advice to students interested in the Pre-Collegiate program is to pay attention and not be overwhelmed by all the information that is out there about college.”

Eagle County Schools would like to thank The Youth Foundation and Columbine Market for donating breakfast and lunch to students and staff.


Educating Every Student for Success