An evening on higher
education opportunities
April 13, 6:30 – 8 p.m.
Free. Public welcome.
Regis High School,
550 W. Regis St. Stayton
By Mary Owen
Patti Keudell will put her 30 years experience as a teacher and counselor for the North Santiam School District to work as the new Aspire Coordinator for Regis High School.
“Patti has brought a tremendous amount of energy to our program,” said Mike Bauer, Regis counselor and program founder with Dave Schumacher. “She has a lot of enthusiasm.”
Keudell is no stranger to Aspire, having mentored participating students for the past two years. She follows in the footsteps of Schumacher, who will now work to build relationships with local schools as well as help monitor and expand tutoring programs.
“This year, our goal is to become more visible,” Keudell said.
Now in its fifth year, Aspire has grown from six volunteers assisting the Regis senior class to 10 mentors, one for every Regis participant, statistics from a mid-year report show.
“In addition, Regis Aspire recognizes the need to plant seeds about the future with students in the lower grades,” Bauer said.
Keudell added, “We want to assist these kids with their career choices and college programs. One of the ways we do this is through College 101.”
College 101, a one-night exploratory journey into higher education opportunities, is April 13, 6:30 – 8 p.m. at Regis High School. Pizza, provided by Figaros, will be served during the first half hour followed by a presentation by Gretchen Beckner, the coordinator for the Columbia Region Aspire program.
“After 8, mentors will be there to chat with families,” Keudell said. “This event is for students and adults who want to go to college.”
A drawing will be held for two $250 scholarships, one for a Regis junior and the other for the general public. Stayton Community Telephone Cooperative will partner with Regis leaders to host the event, which drew 90 people last year, Bauer said.
“We just want this to be a gift to the community,” he said. “Hopefully, people will take advantage of it.”
Another successful venture for Aspire has been the job shadow program for seniors, Keudell said.
“We have found a number of adults in the community who will help students explore a career by letting them job shadow for part of their work day,” she said. Students have shadowed workers in various careers: pharmacy, medical, civil engineering, accounting, journalism and business ownership.
In December, seniors participated in a Senior Forum featuring six 2010 Regis graduates who returned to share their experiences of their first semester at college.
“The forum was instructive, and the information shared will be useful to the class of 2011 as they head off to post-secondary choices,” Bauer said.
Seventh and eighth graders get a taste of what lies ahead through the CIS (Career Information Systems) Junior program, through which they develop career portfolios that follow them through high school while participating in the CIS program and other career-related activities.
“The partnership with families, students and mentors helping kids achieve their maximum capacity, making good career choices, and succeed at meeting their career goals is the highlight of this program for me,” Keudell said.
For information on Aspire or the College 101 event, call Regis High School at 503-769-2159.
