Catching Up With Our Freshmen College Fellows!

Check out what one our fellows from the first inaugural fellows class is up to in college!!!

Name: J'Nyce Poe

What college are you attending? I am a freshman at North Carolina Central University

What are you studying? I am majoring in Business and getting a minor in Psychology

How do you like your classes?  I love my classes.  I am taking 15 credit hours and making all A's and B's.  I especially like my History and Intro. to Geography class.  I'm really getting to know my teachers and attending office hours so they know me.

What else have you been involved with on campus?  I am involved with the Nixon Thorpe Psychology Club, the Eagle Sisters, and Gospel Choir.  I also work at the Music Library.

What do you like most about college? I like being on my own and being responsible for myself.  I also like making new connections and networks with people.  It's great being able to provide for myself.  

The Psychology of Paying for College

You’ve probably been told that college is an investment worth paying for.  According to the Pew Research Center, college graduates between the ages of 25-32, who are working full-time, make on average $17,400 more annually than students with only a high school degree.   In other words, the price of college is an investment in your future that should pay off in the end.  Paying for college as a new student, however, can seem daunting.  It is not only enough to arm yourself with the right resources and tools to pay for college, but to have the right mindset that says “yes, I can do this.”  

According to the book “1001 Ways to Pay for College”, there are four ways of thinking that can help you in the pursuit of college money.  First, you need to be persistent.   Most students who receive money apply to multiple scholarships many of which have small awards.  However, even small amounts of money can result in a bigger amount if you put them all together.  Even though you might receive more rejections, don’t let that stop you from applying to multiple scholarships.   

Second, you need to get creative.  Did you know that scholarships are available from service clubs, religious organizations, you or your parent’s employers, businesses, professional sports organizations, and others?  You need to expose yourself to as many different scholarships as possible to find the right ones.  From there it is just a matter of finding scholarships that fit your background, talents, and achievements.   Think about what makes you unique and find scholarships that fit these things. 

Third, you need to have a long-term vision.  Paying for college is a marathon, not a sprint.  Break up your goal of paying for college into smaller steps.  Maybe one step is looking for scholarships and grants offered by your college.  Another is researching outside sources for money, and another, filling out your FAFSA.   Remember, every little bit of money you put towards college will help in reaching your end goal. 

Finally, remember to have faith.  Paying for college is a lot of work but it is work well spent.  Have confidence that what you are doing now will pay off in the end.  Don’t forget what you are doing this all for.  This motivation will drive you in your path to paying for college.    

For more ideas about how to pay for college check out:

1001 Ways to Pay for College by Gen and Kelly Tanabe 

Fellows Spotlight of the Month!

Raquel Adams is a sophomore in the fellows program.  Her favorite subject is English and her hobbies include reading, watching moving, and traveling when she can.  Her hopes to attend East Carolina University or Duke to study medicine and become a pediatric surgeon.  Raquel has been very active in the Fellows program.  She has attended two volunteer events, the NC State Chocolate Festival and the Fall Great Harvest Festival.  She is also a member of the WELL running club.  What she likes best about being in the program is "the support and help you get and having fun.  You get a whole new family." 

Welcome Back Fellows!!!

                                 Feeding goats at the Interfaith Food Teaching Farm 

The Fellows Program has been in full swing this school year.  We held a fellows orientation the first week of August for our 11 new sophomore fellows.  We were lucky to have Hargrave McElroy and Ellan Maynard come to speak to the fellows about Elizabeth and her role as a mother, advocate, and educator.  We also, as a group, volunteered at the Interfaith Food Teaching Farm.  

In August we also held a mentor training for 17 new mentors who were assigned to the new cohort of fellows as well as some junior and senior fellows.  These mentors mostly consist of college students and young professionals working in the area.    

Since the beginning of the school year, the fellows have been meeting with their mentors and participating in weekly meetings.    The senior fellows are busy completing their college applications.  We have visited East Carolina University and UNC Greensboro so far this fall, and plan to visit North Carolina A&T in November.   We have also participated in two other service activities-- one at NC State benefiting Breast Cancer Research, and one at the 2015 Fall Harvest Festival.  Finally, we have started a couple new programs for fellows and Wade Edwards Learning Lab (WELL) members.  The WELL Running Club helps train runners and walkers to complete a 5K in November.  The WELL Writing Lab helps students organize, construct, and edit their school papers and college essays.

                                                 Senior Fellows Visiting ECU!

Quarter Frenzy Fundraiser A Success!

Thank you to everyone who came to the Quarter Frenzy Fundraiser to benefit the Wade Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards Foundations.  We raised over $600 and had dozens of school supplies donated just in time for high school finals!  The money will go to providing resources and activities for the achievement of Wake County high school students.  We also want to thank the wonderful organizations who donated prizes for the auction.  These include:

The Durham Bulls
Empire Eats Restaurants
Applebees
Massage Envy
Adventure Landing
Autobell Car Wash
Rocky Top Hospitality
Bojangles
Carolina Hurricanes
18 Seaboard

Thank you everyone for your generous contribution!

The Fellows Go To Washington D.C.!

The Junior Elizabeth Edwards Fellows took a trip to Washington D.C. for Spring Break.   For many of us, it was the first time in our nation’s capital.  The trip was a great opportunity to learn about American history, politics, and the importance of social activism.  Although our feet were definitely tired by the end, we had a great time visiting the famous D.C. sites.  Read on to learn what we did!

Ty'Shae' at the Woolworth's Lunch Counter

We started the trip with a visit to the Smithsonian museums.  Some favorite exhibits included the Edgar Degas sculptors at the National Art Gallery and the Woolworth’s Lunch Counter at the American History Museum.   Of course everyone was excited to see Dorothy’s red slippers from the "Wizard of Oz" too!

 Meaghan, Mercedes, and Ahyanna go undercover at the Spy Museum

We learned what it takes to become a spy and complete a mission at the International Spy Museum.  The museum features the largest display of international espionage artifacts ever exhibited, as well as, details behind the history of espionage and its impact on important world events.  

Meaghan and Ms. Peabody at the Holocaust Museum

We were extremely fortunate to hear a first person account from a Holocaust survivor at the Holocaust Memorial Museum.  Ms. Halina Peabody was a Polish Jew who was forced to live in a ghetto with her mother and little sister after the Germans invaded the Soviet Union.  Her family survived the war by purchasing false papers declaring them to be Catholic.  This presentation was truly a one of a kind experience!     

The Fellows at the Kennedy Center

One of the fellows’ favorite activities was seeing the show “Shear Madness” at the Kennedy Center.  This comedic play allows audience members to participate as detectives to help the police solve the mystery surrounding a murder at the Shear Madness Hair Salon.

  

Ty'Shae' with the pandas at the National Zoo

Mercedes and Ahyanna paddle boating in the Tidal Basin

We had a great time seeing the animals at the National Zoo.  The highlight was seeing the adorable panda bears, Mei Ziang and Tian Tian.  We also had a lot of fun paddle boating around the Tidal Basin where we had a magnificent view of the Washington and Jefferson monuments

The Fellows at the White House

Of course no trip to D.C. is complete without a trip to the White House and Congress.  We were able to walk through the elaborate rooms in the East Wing of the White House, and take a tour of the Capital with its impressive rotunda and statues.  

The Fellows at Cantina Mexicana 

Lastly, you cannot go to D.C. without eating some amazing food.  We had dinner at Hard Times which features world famous chili and chili macs.  We also had some tasty Indian food at Merzi, and finished up the trip eating delicious desserts at Captain Cookie and the Milk Man. 

Step-It-Up-2-Thrive: Helping fellows to reach their full potential

Thriving is defined, as “a forward, purposeful motion towards achieving one’s full potential.”  This idea is central to the Step-It-Up-2-Thrive curriculum created by the Thrive Foundation For Youth (http://www.thrivefoundation.org/).  Using the curriculum, schools and youth organizations can help young people develop positive development skills and assets that will challenge them to evaluate their lives, yet support them in finding their place in the world. 

Step-It-Up-2-Thrive is made up of four important parts or stages of development.  The first stage is the identification of youths’ sparks or what they're passionate about. When youth develop and grow their sparks, they can drive their personal growth and thriving.  The second stage focuses on the idea of a growth mindset where skills, intelligences, and personality qualities can be developed.  This idea teaches young people that they can continue to learn and improve even when responding to challenges, by developing new strategies and asking for help.  The third stage has young people reflect on twelve indicators of thriving or skills they can develop to help them reach their full potential.   Finally, the fourth stage focuses on goal setting and management that grows one or more indicators of thriving. 

The sophomore fellows have been exploring the first and third stages from the curriculum.  They have identified their sparks and how spark champions can help them develop and grow those sparks.  They have also reflected on the six main domains of thriving indicators or the 6C’s.  Here are some of the ways the fellows have identified as ways to achieve the six thriving indicators.

Competence: developing healthy habits, love of learning, social skills and life skills

Character: being respectful, honest, dependable, and accountable, and living by your values

Confidence: developing persistence, resourcefulness, self-esteem, and pride

Caring: caring about family and friends, helping others, having compassion

Connection: developing positive relationships with friends, family, and mentors, and developing spiritual growth

Contribution: having a purpose, doing service, helping others, caring about your community