Road Trip to Excellence Spring Break College Tour
Instead of a staycation, members and community high school students from Bellview AME Church in Aragon, Georgia, hit the road for Spring Break for an overnight tour of a variety of colleges in Alabama. Eight students experienced a bit of college life on the campuses of Auburn University, Tuskegee University, Alabama State University, University of Alabama, Miles College, and Talladega College.
This whirlwind tour allowed the high schoolers and chaperones to gain a new appreciation for the vast differences in the higher education experience in size, demographics, and social and academic opportunities. They learned that everyone could find his or her college fit. According to Lyric Ford, an 11th-grade student at Rockmart High School, “the colleges showed me that you really have to learn how to be independent and take responsibility.”
Most students had not previously considered going out-of-state to college and now consider it an option, especially after finding out about the myriad of scholarship opportunities available. Chaperone and steward pro tem Joyce Hudson was amazed at the many opportunities and how the living areas have changed. One grandparent, Amanda Ford, related that her grandson, Lamarrion Ford, a 9th-grader, signed himself up for tutorial classes at school so that he will be ready for college.
In a real-world demonstration of the importance of continuing education, Bellview’s pastor, the Rev. Susan Buckson, and the entire van of travelers stopped on the side of the road so that she could defend her dissertation as a Payne Theological Seminary doctoral student by videoconference. It was successful.
The Bellview AME Church Road Trip to Excellence helped to plant several seeds about how to prepare in high school for post-secondary experiences. In the words of one parent, Sharonda Fortson-Byrd, “My son [Jayden, an 11th-grader] had a blast. [He is] still talking about all the adventurous places he was able to see and learn from. Awesome trip!”
Editor’s Note: Before the printing of this article, the Rev. Dr. Susan Buckson was moved to Allen Temple AME Church in Atlanta, Georgia. The new pastor of Bellview AME Church in Aragon is the Rev. Sherice Simmons.
