Students at the Truman Middle College (TMC) campus of YCCS are certainly getting a significant taste of community college life as they attend high school on the Truman College campus. Four outstanding June grads shared their experiences with us recently:
Jasper Morrow is Valedictorian of the Class of 2019 at TMC and says, “I have built my self- confidence here at the Middle College. I am no longer afraid of taking on challenges and pursuing my goals in life.” With a passion for creative writing, Jasper found support that helped him excel academically to receive an $11,000 Dean’s Scholarship to attend Columbia College this fall. He shared that he “liked being on a college campus and interacting with college students. Some of their advice actually steered me to apply at Columbia to follow my career in writing.”
Fadil Ashiru, an immigrant from Nigeria who hopes to be a surgeon one day, was inspired “seeing so many immigrants like myself at Truman College studying hard to make themselves successful in America.” Fadil also received a City College scholarship to attend Malcolm X College to enter their health careers program. He shared, “Everyone at the Middle College has been so approachable and willing to assist me in my pursuits…they made me feel all is possible.”
Abdullah Asif and Deborah Ampong were both awarded STAR scholarships to enter City Colleges to prepare for careers in computer science and the biotech industry. Abdullah was “grateful for the dual enrollment courses that I took which will be counted as credit for my Associate’s degree.” Deborah felt that “being on a college campus with older students allowed me to seek out role models and mentors.”
As Dr. Myrel Cooke of YCCS states, “Our two Middle College campuses at YCCS, one at Olive-Harvey and one at Truman, have positively impacted and greatly enhanced our students’ experiences both on the academic and socialization levels. We couldn’t be more pleased with our partnership with Chicago City Colleges – this is truly a wonderful pipeline for historically under-served students.”