F¹rst Graduate

Chris (FG6) shared his experiences as a rising junior at Leadership High School.

On August 3, First Graduate hosted our eighth annual Presentations of Learning (POLs), a special event for our students, their families, and members of the community. During the evening event, held at The Bay School, more than 80 of our high school students offered insightful and moving presentations highlighting their educational experiences and goals for the future.

The POLs gave our students the opportunity to reflect on their challenges and accomplishments as they continue their journey on the road to college. The event also provided them with a chance to hone the type of public speaking and presentation skills they will need to exercise in college and beyond.

During their POLs, several students offered evidence of their work and talents, including poems, drawings and instrumental performances. At the end of each presentation, volunteer evaluators – program partners, board members, mentors, and a few of First Graduate’s college students – posed questions and provided feedback for our students.

Here are a couple of examples from the student POLs:

Paola (FG6), The Marin School

“I spent most of my freshman year getting used to high school and adopting to a new culture with a different socio-economic group than I was accustomed to. By the beginning of my sophomore year, I had already gotten somewhat accustomed to the culture and really wanted to learn and grow more by getting to know other cultures and lifestyles. At my school, my English teacher was introducing African literature. During this unit, he asked for volunteers for an event called Teach with Africa. This was the first year when the program was going to take students overseas to San Francisco to host a workshop with Bay Area students. The workshop was going to be about the educational systems in South Africa and in the U.S. I immediately knew I wanted to be part of this event. “

Chris (FG6), Leadership High School

“Over the past two years, I have grown a lot academically, personally and socially. I have had to face many obstacles to get to this point in my life. When I first started my ninth-grade year, I wasn’t scared of the challenges that would face me. But I was concerned whether I would able to tackle those problems and confront them. Academically I have become more enriched with the various subjects that my school has to offer. I had never taken a Spanish class before my ninth-grade year. I didn’t really like the class when I started, but as time went on I developed a relationship with my teacher and I was able to get the help that I needed. In the fall, I’ll actually be taking AP Spanish, which I never thought I would do.”

Volunteer POL evaluators Olivia Ho, Olivia Bradbury and Heidi Erbe responded to student POLs.

Several guests and volunteers were impressed by the student presentations. “The students are so amazing,” said Aparna Behari, a volunteer and Online Merchandising Manager at Apple. “Our youngest presenter blew me away with his presentation. All the students did a great job.”

To view photos of this event, click here to visit First Graduate’s Flickr page.

Our students outside of a Sephora store on Career Day.

How early do students need to start thinking about a career in law or technology? It’s never too soon to learn about what it takes to land a great job in a desirable field. That’s the philosophy behind First Graduate’s 4th Annual Career Day, an event for Summer Session students.

On Friday, July 16, nearly 100 First Graduate students, including a few of our college students, broke up into groups to visit one of 10 Career Day host offices.  “The purpose of the event is to expose students to the diversity of career options available to people who have earned a college degree,” said Program Associate Rachel Alexander, who organized the event.

This year, the hosts included a few new sites (Hill & Knowlton, San Francisco Chronicle,  Sephora, 1:AM Gallery) as well as veteran ones (California Children’s Services, Gap, Inc., Gordon and Rees, San Francisco Giants, San Francisco Zoo, and Ubisoft).

At Sephora, the Director of Merchandising for Fragrance and Men’s Grooming Jessica Hanson shared a slideshow presentation highlighting her educational and career paths as the first in her family to graduate from college. She explained how a new fragrance comes into being and students got a whiff of some of the store’s top-selling scents.

Our aspiring lawyers visited Gordon & Rees, a law firm with offices throughout the United States. Staff, including First Graduate Board Member and Gordon & Rees Partner Sara Thorpe, treated our students to lunch followed by an office tour. Students Anthony (FG10) and Heisel (FG9) had prepared such questions as, “Why did you choose to be a lawyer?” and “What do you do on your first day as a lawyer?” The highlight of the visit came when the hosts presented a series of mock cases for the students to discuss and judge.

Our would-be writers stopped by the Chronicle newsroom, sat in on a morning news meeting, and toured the Food & Wine section’s

Ever wonder how news decisions are made? Our students got to listen in at the Chronicle.

test kitchen. Assistant Managing Editor Allen Matthews used a whiteboard to explain what stories would be covered in the next day’s paper.

At each site, students got a good sense of not only what it would be like to work in the given profession, but what they need to do to prepare. “Students deepen their knowledge of industries in which they may already be interested, learn something new about fields they might not have previously considered, and meet professionals who can share their experiences with college and the working world,” said Rachel.

Alex (at left) was one of three college students to greet guests on visitor's day.

Last week, First Graduate hosted a special event for visitors to the program, First Glance at First Graduate. Among our guests, which included program partners, volunteers and supporters, was Leah Garchik from the San Francisco Chronicle. She posted a follow-up story on her popular blog. In it, she described our program and made the connection between the resources we provide students and the larger issue of rising college costs.

A quote: “The oldest participants in First Graduate’s 8-year-old program are two years away from college graduation, enrolled at colleges throughout California, and also in the East (Tufts, Barnard, Harvard). They’re promised $1,000 a year in financial help, but most individual needs are so much greater that more is provided, often with the help of counselors who help figure out how other sources can be tapped.”

Students set their sights high on the campus of UC Berkeley, standing in front of Campanile (aka Sather Tower).

Every First Graduate student’s long-term goal is to graduate from a four-year college. To make that dream more tangible for our students, First Graduate organized College Day on July 2. On that sunny Friday, more than 80 students – ranging from rising 7th to 10th graders – boarded buses to travel with Summer Session staff to one of two local universities: San Francisco State University or the University of California at Berkeley.

At San Francisco State, staff from SF Promise (a San Francisco initiative that guarantees that all district students have access to a college education) hosted First Graduate students. They first took part in a scavenger hunt designed to introduce them to the campus as they went from building to building in pursuit of scavenger list items. After lunch, our students attended a panel discussion during which an SF State coed shared her experience and took questions.

SF Promise Program Coordinator Martin De Muchas Flores engaged our students in a scavenger hunt.

For Douglas (FG7), a rising sophomore attending Abraham Lincoln High School, the visit was not the first to acollege campus, but it gave him a new perspective. The tall tenth grader was impressed by the spaciousness of the campus, as well as the design of the Creative Arts building. He was also pleased about the relatively small size of the classes he observed. While Douglas has time to decide where he’ll apply for college, the trip motivated him to plan ahead. “It made me think about taking challenging classes like advanced history, so I could be competitive with other students,” he said.

At Berkeley, members of Bridges Multicultural Resource Center, a coalition of five student-of-color organizations, welcomed our students and took them on a tour of a residence hall. The dorm visit was followed by a tour of the larger campus, including the Valley Life Sciences Building, where a 40-foot mounted skeleton of a T-rex resides.

Diana (FG8), who will be a freshman at Lick-Wilmerding High School this fall, particularly liked the panel discussion with five Berkeley students – including three first-generation ones – who shared stories about their paths to college. “We were able to actually talk to the students one-on-one,” she recalled. “We could ask them questions and they answered them honestly.” While Diana is keeping her options open in terms of specific schools, the trip underscored what she already knew: “It made me want to go to college.”

College Day is one of three opportunities that First Graduate provides for students each year so that they can visit college campuses and learn more about college life.

Lara (FG9) receives her Student of the Week award from Alex (FG1).

School is out but First Graduate’s rising 7th to 10th graders are engaged in our Summer Session. For five weeks, from June 21 to July 23, our students take a mix of rigorous classes and enjoy a range of stimulating activities. “The summer program provides our students with the opportunity to hone their academic skills, build leadership skills, and develop a sense of community,” says Sandra Park, Director of Programs.  

During Summer Session, all 120 participating students work on strengthening their abilities in math, reading and writing. They also have opportunities to develop their public speaking, interviewing, research, and computer literacy skills. Each day begins with two academic classes (math and language arts) taught by certified teachers. After lunch, students transition to study hall for help with homework. In the afternoons, they engage in a combination of tutoring and electives, as well as advisory, when staff help them plan ahead for high school and college.

Students show they've got talent during a lip-sync contest.

On Fridays students come together for Mosaic, First Graduate’s gatherings for team-building activities and celebrations. This summer, several Fridays are also dedicated to events:

•    First Graduate Olympics (June 25). A culmination of Spirit Week, FG Olympics featured a series of team competitions, including a relay race and lip-syncing contest. See photos on our Flickr page.
•    College Day (July 2). Students visit and tour local colleges to get a glimpse of college life.
•    Career Day (July 16). Students shadow professionals at companies such as Ubisoft, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the Giants/AT&T Park, among others.
•    Project Presentations (July 24). Students exhibit projects highlighting the work they’ve done throughout the summer. Past projects have included student-made films and a debate.

For the first time this summer, our students are also testing their limits with activities organized by Outward Bound Bay Area. Additionally, First Graduate is hosting First Glance at First Graduate, an event for visitors interested in learning about the program, on July 13. For updates on Summer Session, check this blog, as well as our Facebook, Twitter and Flickr pages.