Have you met your KIPP Cousins?

It was like any normal flight: find your seat, place your backpack in the top bin, sit down, relax, and wait until you arrive at your destination. I was on a layover flight in Atlanta, two hours away from a summer program called July Experience held at Davidson College. A few seats over, I overheard two students discussing their GPA, school, and choice of colleges, while I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.

Once I arrived in North Carolina, I was greeted by a smiling woman, Irma, with a distinct red Davidson shirt. She hugged each and every student as they arrived, and promised that we were about to have an amazing experience together. I conversed with the other students who were waiting for the shuttle bus until someone said the word “KIPP.”  

“Hey, I’m from KIPP!” one of the students exclaimed.  Turns out, the students I overhead on my flight were KIPP students from Atlanta!  One of the students from the plane asked, “You’re from KIPP, too?”   Suddenly, we were all shouting that we were from KIPP! Who knew that I would be waiting for the shuttle bus with my fellow KIPP cousins from across the country? We began talking about where we were from, our schools, and how KIPP has affected our lives so far. 

The first thing that caught my attention about Davidson – and North Carolina – was how kind the people were: our shuttle bus driver started a conversation with Irma about our program and where we were all from, and the Davidson faculty and R.A’s were waiting to greet us with welcoming arms when we arrived.  They even gave us an eloquent banquet to kick off the program.

At July Experience, students take two college courses.  Since I’m most interested in math and music, I picked What’s Happening in Mathematics and Listening to Fear. Even though this is not my first time taking classes taught by professors, it was my first time buying a textbook and realizing that the professor actually wrote it. I had an urge to get my music professor’s autograph since his name was on the front cover.  

I felt especially close with my classmates and professor in my math class.  One week, our assignment was to build repeating boxes by solely folding business cards (our lesson was fractal geometry at the time).  Making over 100 boxes took hours, so my classmates and I decided to build the boxes together. We left lunch early to go to the mathematics class in order to finish up our boxes.  We cracked jokes with each other while working on our boxes. Even our professor joined in on the jokes. 

For anyone who is interested in attending a summer program, I would recommend July Experience at Davidson College. Most importantly, I will never forget meeting my fellow KIPP cousins from California, Washington D.C., Georgia, and Texas.  

Even though the students could be loud and energetic (our ‘energizer’ was chanting our signature song “Hey Burrito”), I enjoyed the calm and peaceful Davidson campus. Everyone had the opportunity to shop around Davidson, attend lectures in actual classrooms, and study in the library – we really did get a slice of what it’s like to be an actual student at Davidson. In the past, I have travelled to different states in order to attend summer programs, and compared to the other opportunities, July Experience gave us more freedom, responsibility, and prepared us to be well-rounded college students.  

I still keep in touch with my KIPP cousins from July Experience.  Now, we just have to keep the “Hey Burrito” chant going on Facebook.

Working for KIPP Bay Area Schools

It is the summer before my senior year of high school. It's the last summer I am enjoying before I am faced with everything college related: SAT’s, college handbooks, personal statements, scholarships and more. The sun is pounding its rays onto the parks. The beach is screaming out my name.  Still, I am not in either of those locations. Why?  I have an awesome internship this summer!

My name is Lisa Huo I am a rising senior at KIPP King Collegiate High School. This summer I am working for the Development department at the KIPP Bay Area Schools Regional Support Office (KBAS RSO).  My position revolves around donors and their support of KIPP Bay Area Schools. I make sure that donors’ contact information and financial contributions are correctly filed.  Most importantly, I ensure that they are acknowledged by addressing thank you letters and updating their names into KIPP annual report. But that’s not it! I also had the opportunity to arrange interviews for RSO job applicants, and got an inside view into how KBAS runs.

Through this internship, I gained a valuable learning experience. I got the chance to further develop my speaking and writing skills.  Plus, I even went through an interview, which I am sure will come in handy when I apply for jobs, scholarships and even, college. So yeah, I didn’t soak up the sun or hang much with my friends this summer, but I did get paid, gained work experience and supported my school at the same time. Now, I can finally buy a camera! 

Thanks to the KBAS team for giving me this cool opportunity and teaching me the value of hard work.

Tere's College Tip Tuesday

This one is for all upcoming high school seniors and college freshmen. One of my friends who is now a senior at UC San Diego recently told me: “Only 10% of what you learn in university will come from the classroom, 90% will come from everything not related to class.” Does that mean I get to press the snooze alarm and snore for another hour or so? Nope. Going to class is still important, but it’s not the only place you will learn! Put it like this, although you are absorbing up knowledge like a sponge, you still need to apply it. Having said that, some of the best, intriguing conversations you will encounter will be from your peers and professors outside of the lecture hall. Don’t be reluctant to use the university as a resource; join clubs, organizations, go to parties, attend readings, ask for help from the TA’s etc. It’s college, learn about yourself and others! As for me, I plan becoming a member of the Leadership Award Scholars Association, where I will be helping plan events at UC Berkeley.

Postre and Posadas: The Joys of Fundraising at KIPP King

On Friday December 9, KIPP King Collegiate decided to host a small event to help raise money for senior graduation night at Disneyland. Since it is the last year for the seniors to be together, they want to celebrate and cherish all their memories; so they decided to go to Disneyland. Through small bake sales and other food sales, they have been working and saving up for their end-of-the-year trip.  Because there was only one more week until winter break, having a posada was an excellent way to enjoy the upcoming holiday and fundraise for the trip.

A posada, in dictionary terms, is a Christmas festival originating in Latin America that dramatizes the search of Joseph and Mary for lodging. This posada, in terms of KIPP King, was basically like a bake sale where food was priced around a dollar and anyone was invited to come. Friends and family came to enjoy the event and the evening. Aside from the food, King students were screening two movies in the classrooms, which were the classic Christmas movie “Home Alone” and a Christmas comedy “Four Christmas”. In addition, Santa Claus, whose identity shall remain unknown for the sake of the siblings who were there, came to take pictures with students, teachers, children, and parents.

Since it was a Friday, King students were dismissed around 3 pm, giving the student council time to prepare the rooms for the two movies and help set up the posada. Although it was a lot of work, everyone pitched in and did their part in creating a festive atmosphere. It was a night that let people appreciate the holiday season. If anyone stayed until the end, there was a piñata brought out. It was dark outside and some lights were set up so I couldn’t see everything too clearly. But I knew that everyone took turns hitting the piñata because different names were chanted every few minutes. One person I could clearly see hit the piñata was Mr. Singer. When it was his turn, the poor thing met its match. As soon as candy came falling down a swarm of students and little kids came running with smiles on their faces.

After the piñata, the posada still continued,  but unfortunately I couldn’t stay any longer. I can say that I witnessed an event that accomplished its goal in a fun and creative way. There was food, movies, and a free photo shoot with Santa. What more can a student ask for on a Friday?

How I Spent My Summer

by Monica, KIPP King c/o 2012

Going into my last summer before senior year of high school, I really wanted to make sure I took advantage of my time and was proactive with my summer.  It was important for me to take charge of my summer because I wanted to gain valuable working experience by taking part in an internship. With my priorities set, I decided to apply to different summer programs. I applied to different programs, including a Bank of America Internship, Chicano Latino Youth Leadership Project, and the Oakland Children’s Hospital Summer intern program. However, out of all the programs I applied to, the one that stood out the most to me was the KIPP Bay Area Schools Internship for KIPP Alumni. 

I have been apart of the growing KIPP community since I was a sixth grader at KIPP Summit Academy; now I'm starting my senior year at KIPP King Collegiate High school. Not only has KIPP helped me grow academically as a student, but has also helped me find my own personal identity.  Before I went to KIPP I was not as well spoken as I am today. I now identify myself as a student leader. With the amount of support I have received from my teachers, I have become more confident in myself, which has helped me over come my fear of public speaking and pushed me to involve myself in different school activities. I now participate in the National Forensic Debate team, the Mock Trial team, and I’m current Student Body Secretary.  In addition, I have found my hidden passion for art along the way. With all that said, I wanted to give back to my KIPP community for everything that they have offered me. This summer internship seemed like the perfect opportunity not only to learn more about what KIPP is all about, but also a way for me to give back and learn how to help my community even further.  I applied to work in the KIPP Through College (KTC) department, which supports all of the alumni who graduate from any KIPP school, and was ecstatic to hear I had been chosen to be a part of the program.

Over the summer, I worked alongside the KTC staff and four other interns. Throughout my internship, I had several different projects that challenged me to step out of my comfort zone. I not only had to learn to manage my time, but also hold myself accountable for meeting my deadlines. My projects ranged from creating the Pennant Ceremony invitations for the KIPP middle schools and the College Scholars Program, creating a Facebook page for KTC, and the DREAM Act Intern Project. Even though I enjoyed working on all my summer projects, my favorite one would have to be the DREAM Act Intern Project. The DREAM Act project helped me clear up many myths and misconceptions that the media has portrayed the DREAM Act to be. This topic hit me close to home because I did not realize how many students in my community would benefit so much if the act were passed. Not only did my DREAM Act project inspire me to continue to work hard through my final year in high school, but also it helped me narrow down my future career options. I would have never though about being a teacher or being a part of the education system in any way, but after my summer working in KTC, I'm considering it.

My summer working alongside the KTC staff was definitely an amazing experience and I am happy I got the chance to work with them.  Working in the office you really see the dedication and passion everyone has for education. From the first day in the office I felt integrated into the team and family.  They all have a great sense of humor and keep the office lively and energetic; it was fun to be around them. I have so much admiration and respect for the work they do in order to help every single KIPP alumnus. This internship has given me insight into how KIPP works to ensure its students are receiving the best education they can. Although my internship was only four weeks long, I miss the office atmosphere.

With my last year of high school officially started, I feel accomplished and proud of the goals I met this past summer.  I highly recommend that KIPP Alumni apply for the program; it was genuinely the highlight of my entire summer. 

KIPP Summer Interns!

- Monica is an alumna of KIPP Summit Academy and a current 12th grader at KIPP King Collegiate High School in San Lorenzo.  Monica served as the intern for the KIPP Through College Department this past summer as part of the Alumni Internship Program.  For more information, visit KIPP Bay Area Schools online.