The Elon Academy partners with Student U Durham and the Emily K Center to host a virtual roundtable event for local college access and success professionals.
On Friday, May 14th, the Elon Academy partnered with Student U Durham and the Emily K Center of Durham to host a virtual Tri-Area College Access Roundtable. Stemming from the inaugural Tri Area College Access Summit held in 2019, the roundtable aimed to create an opportunity to connect with other college access and success professionals serving first generation students and families.
The roundtable event centered conversations around the following: Family & Community Engagement, Funding & Development, and Programming.
Following such a challenging year, these small group conversations were designed to give professionals a space to discuss challenges and success in pivoting from a “normal” operating year through the programmatic impact of COVID-19. With more than 30 attendees, the event had representation from the following college access and success organizations:
- Wake Forest Pre-College Programs (Winston Salem)
- Crosby Scholars Program (Winston-Salem)
- Durham Children’s Initiative
- UNC Greensboro
- N.C. A&T Student Support Services
- N.C. Community Colleges
- Say Yes Guilford
- N.C. State University
At the conclusion of the event, attendee Chantal Fleming (NCAT) shared “this is a form of self-care.” While others expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to simply, be in company with individuals, who share the same experiences and challenges in their work.
Attendees left energized and hopeful for more opportunities to connect again. The organizers — Princess King (Elon Academy), Bianca Lambert (Student U Durham), Donell Moore (Emily K Center), Kiara Aranda (Emily K Center), and Derrick Beasley (Student U Durham) — hope that this coalition will lead to further collaborative opportunities between colleagues and possibly grow the initiative into a mini conference for local college access and success professionals in the future.