Fellows Welcome North Carolina General Assembly Speakers!

What an exciting and eventful month for the Elizabeth Edwards Fellows Program! 

We welcomed Dee Atkinson and Russell Miles from the North Carolina General Assembly to talk to our Junior fellows about their local government.  The fellows learned how to find and track bills, follow chamber activities, meetings, and issues, and the best way to find and communicate with their State House and Senate Representatives.  The fellows also learned important ways to advocate for themselves and their community, and gained valuable advice for getting involved in politics and local government issues. 

The Junior fellows also attended a College Application Readiness Workshop hosted by the Raleigh College Center.  The workshop, led by a local high school counselor, gave strategies for creating the best possible application for colleges.   

The Sophomore fellows have also been busy with the Step It Up 2 Thrive Trainings.   This month, the fellows have been creating personal goals and learning goal management skills.  Dr. Richard Learner at Tufts Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development, has demonstrated that young people who develop strong goal management skills are on a positive journey toward thriving.   In Step It Up 2 Thrive, goal management is described as an internal GPS guidance system- thus helping the fellows with their Goal Selection, Pursuit of Strategies, and Shifting Gears in the face of challenges.        

February Mentor of the Month!

Congratulations to our Mentor of the Month, Lauren Prevatte! 

Lauren is in her second year of mentoring for the Elizabeth Edwards Fellows Program.  She is currently a senior at North Carolina State University and majoring in Social Work.  

Lauren is matched with two of our fellows- J’nyce Poe and Tabrinna Haley.  According to Lauren, “My fellows have taught me so much more than I could ever have imagined.  They are two girls full of so much potential and drive to have a successful future, and it has been my honor to try and help them access that potential.”   In addition to their weekly meetings at Starbucks, Lauren and her fellows have participated in community service projects together, and attended a “Titanic” exhibit.  According to her fellows, Lauren has been a great influence on their lives.  She is “always available to talk and answer questions, and gives great advice with whatever is going on in our lives.”  Lauren is inspired to mentor because, “in this day and age, youth are surrounded by so many negative stimuli that it is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate down a positive and successful path.  Mentoring gives me the opportunity to use my experience, and even my mistakes, to help them pick a better path for themselves.”  

Thank you so much Lauren for all your passion and hard work!  

New Year's Happenings!

SAT Prep and Skills to Pay the Bills Event!

It has been a busy month for our fellows.  The junior fellows participated in a SAT Prep program offered by the Wade Edwards Learning Lab.  The test prep workshop included strategies for tackling each section of the SAT as well as information about what to expect on test day.  The junior fellows also attended a Skills to Pay the Bills event offered at Broughton High School.  Students participated in interactive presentations on communication, enthusiasm/attitude, teamwork, problem solving/critical thinking, and professionalism.  Presenters included representatives from Fidelity Investments, Alfred Williams and Company, The Umstead Hotel and Spa, Wake Tech Community College, and the United States Army.

The sophomore fellows have started the Step-It-Up-2-Thrive curriculum created by Thrive Foundation for Youth. The first stage of the curriculum is the identification of youths' sparks- those hidden strengths that are discoverable in all youth.  We had a wonderful discussion about how to identify the fellows' sparks, obstacles that can get in the way of sparks, and those champions who know and support them in pursuit of their sparks.    

Finally, out new fellows have started meeting with their mentors this month.  We are so excited for these relationships to grow and flourish, and are already seeing how much the personal support system of a mentor is making a difference in the lives of the fellows.

College 101 and Kick Off Party!

We have had a busy but exciting month at the Elizabeth Edwards Fellows Program.  Three of our Fellows attended a career and college fair at the Garner Road Community Center.  A number of colleges from North Carolina were in attendance, and our students received some great information about their college prospects.  The Fellows also attended a College 101 workshop with Jenny Peacock, the Director of Admissions at Peace University.   During this interactive presentation, students were challenged to think about a successful “Action Plan" for college admissions.  The students also learned some great tips about applying for, paying for, and succeeding in college.  Finally, we are pleased to welcome six new sophomores and one new junior into the Elizabeth Edwards Fellows Program!  These students, who were nominated for the program by their teachers based on their academic potential, had to complete an application and interview in order to become accepted into the program.   We celebrated their acceptance, at our Kick-Off Party, at the Alley, a bowling alley in Raleigh.  Both new and previous Fellows as well as friends and family had a wonderful time bowling and learning more details about the program and all the exciting opportunities we have to offer. 

The Elizabeth Edwards Fellows Program Welcomes Its Second Cohort of Students!!!

The Elizabeth Edwards Foundation is proud to welcome a new cohort of high school sophomores into the Elizabeth Fellows Program.  These students will follow in the footsteps of last years eight original Elizabeth Fellows.  The Fellows will participate in mentoring with area college students, receive academic tutoring in courses where they are receiving less than a B average, and take part in service learning opportunities.   The Fellows will also research and learn to speak about issues they care about in their community.  At the end of the year, they will receive laptops to help them mature as scholars and advocates.

As Elizabeth Fellows in their junior year, students will explore their college options and receive support in the application process.  Fellows will receive SAT prep, attend college tours and workshops, and learn about scholarship and financial aid options.  They will also identify and research problems in their community and learn to advocate for the solutions.  At the end of the year, Fellows will travel to Washington D.C. to lobby their representatives for their cause. 

Though only in its second year of programming, we are determined to show our Fellows a vision where they can be successful in high school and college, and continue to excel and make a difference in the world at large.  As dedicated and passionate high school students, our Fellows have been and will continue to be instrumental in improving and enhancing the success of the program. 

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth.

This July 3rd, we at the Elizabeth Edwards Foundation remember the birthday of our namesake and muse, Elizabeth Edwards.

Mary Elizabeth Anania was born on July 3, 1949 at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station hospital.  In Saving Graces, she said: "my life is measured by which air station, which town, which country I lived in...  My only constant is my family.  And for me, describing them is like describing my hometown: it's where I come from." 

Elizabeth would have been 63 years old today. She lived all 61 years of her life to the fullest possible extent, each day finding love, joy, passion, work and thought.  Throughout her life, she continued to live in her "hometown": surrounded by her extended family.  Some were family by blood and some by a deep friendship.  Elizabeth understood the richness of life from the start, recognizing that the people in it are what comprise its fabric.  And she never stopped pulling more people into that family. We at the Foundation endeavor to continue Elizabeth's beautiful life work, including continuing to build that family, that hometown, here at the Foundation.

We invite you to join the family, and to join us today in wishing Elizabeth a Happy Birthday! We are so thankful that Elizabeth was born.

Huffington Post: Cate Edwards on Elizabeth Edwards's "Defining Moments"

Defining Moments

Every person has a timeline of their own life, made up of the big moments in it -- the personal bests and worsts that singe their memories. On my timeline, one of those worsts came on November 3, 2004, when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Another happened on March 22, 2006, when it was confirmed that her cancer had metastasized to her bones and it would be incurable.

People often call these "defining moments." But when I think about my mom, when I describe her, these are never the moments that come to mind. She taught me better than that. She taught me that the big moments count, of course; but she also taught me that most of life is what happens in between. So, that's how I think about her timeline -- as memories of the moments in between, because those are what truly define her.

I remember how much fun she was, the amusement she could bring to an otherwise boring occasion. For example, when I was growing up, she was constantly updating her hand-typed songbook. It was an intense piece of work -- put together in alphabetical order in a giant three-ring binder, which had to accompany us on all family road trips. She came up with a competition: my brother, Wade, and my dad would sing one song, and she and I would sing another; we would roll down all the car windows and sing as loud as we could; whoever sang loudest won. The sound our clashing voices produced was pure joy, egged on by the honks and stares from surrounding cars. (And, of course, she always declared our team the victor.)

I remember how superstitious she was about sports. She spent the second half of one home UNC basketball game in the bathroom at the Dean Dome because every time she came out, the Heels would start losing. The night before her lumpectomy in 2005, we sat in a small Boston hotel room, completely distracted by the best rivalry in college basketball -- UNC v. Duke. We superstitiously switched seats back and forth until Carolina started playing well, and when they won, we patted ourselves on the back for the victory.

I remember how well she could laugh at herself. I was at home in Chapel Hill one afternoon in 2009 and found my mom at her computer. She looked worried, so I peeked over her shoulder and saw that she had Googled, "skin cancer." She looked like she had been flipping through the unsightly images for hours, so I asked what was going on. She pointed to a dark spot on her neck and said, "Does this look like skin cancer to you?" I examined it for a minute and said, "Well, I don't know what skin cancer looks like... but I do know what a curling iron burn looks like." She sheepishly turned to me and -- in her best Gilda Radner voice -- said, "Oh. Never mind." We looked at each other for a half second before we both burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

I know these things seem small, but they're not. When you put together the thousands of little stories and the traits they embody, you get a portrait of the woman I most admired in the world. You get my mother.

I was 28 years old when I sat at my mom's bedside for our last big moment together -- the morning of December 7, 2010 -- when she passed. Today, I think of her in all the big moments, like my wedding in 2011 or the launch of the Elizabeth Edwards Foundation last year, whenever I could use some of her wisdom or I need a shot of courage. I wish she were here for those big moments. But I also think about her whenever I sing in the car or I switch seats during a UNC game or I have no choice but to make fun of myself. So mostly, I just wish we had more of the moments in between.

"Today we stand up in memory of all those moms we've lost, and all those moms who are in the fight against this vicious disease. Launch a star in memory of someone you love at su2c.org."

Read more about the work of the Elizabeth Edwards Foundation in honor of Cate's mother. 

Read the article on The Huffington Post.