A handful of young women sat in a classroom the afternoon of Thursday, May 31, to make a list of all the decisions they made in the last 24 hours.
Rachel Sutphin, a youth outreach coordinator for the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, led the discussion at Dominion High School, as part of the Project Discovery program.
"Now write down some really important decisions you’ve made," Sutphin said.
Then, the students formed a circle to talk about their decision-making process.
"This exercise teaches them how to make some really important decisions and the decision-making process can be applied to anything, like college or when to study or go out with friends or whether or not to drink at a party" she said.
Project Discovery is a dropout-prevention and college preparatory program based out of Salem, Va., that serves students from low-income families and first-generation potential post-secondary education students.
In May, the Loudoun Youth Inc. granted Parks, Recreation and Community Services $2,000 to help fund the program. The Loudoun Youth Inc., a nonprofit organization set up to find resources to address the needs of the county’s young people.
Parks, Recreation and Community Services launched the program at Dominion High School for the first time this year.
IN JANUARY, Sutphin sat outside the Sterling school’s cafeteria in an effort to generate buzz about the program.
Stephanie Murray, a freshman at Dominion High School, signed up for the after-school program for a couple of reasons. She said she wanted more information about college and applying for financial aid and thought Project Discovery would be a good place to start. In order to go to college, Murray said she would need to apply for scholarships due to her family’s financial situation.
Murray is the first person in her family with plans to attend college or university, she said. Before she joined the group, she didn’t know who to ask questions about the college process or campus life.
"Now I have someone to answer those questions," Murray said.
ON SATURDAY, June 2, Project Discovery traveled to Shepherdstown, W.Va., to tour Shepherd University’s campus.
Murray said she realized she wanted to go to the West Virginia school because it offered two of the majors she is interested in, nursing and criminal justice.
If she never visited the campus with Project Discovery, Murray said might have overlooked the out-of-state school.
The group also traveled to George Mason University last month.
"The college tours give us a good idea about where we want to go and what to expect when we get there," said Nigeria Brown, a sophomore at Dominion High School.
PROJECT DISCOVERY not only provides answers to students' questions, but the program makes an effort to involve parents in the college process.
Last week, Sutphin held a workshop for parents on Project Discovery members at Dominion High School.
Sutphin invited a representative from The College Place, a nonprofit organization that provides educational resources for individuals seeking to continue their post-secondary education, to answer parents’ questions about financial aid, college scholarships and application fees.
Darryl and Marjorie Smith sat in the front row of the workshop Thursday, May 31. They attended the workshop to find out more information about how to find scholarships for their daughter, Kristian, a senior at Dominion High School.
"There are so many resources out there for students and parents, too," Darryl Smith said. "I want to know how to find them all, so my daughter can apply for scholarships and hopefully get a full ride somewhere."
The best part about Project Discovery, Marjorie Smith said, is that it gives students optimism for their future.
"A lot of students just assume they can’t go to college," she said. "This group gives them hope. There’s no excuse for students not to go to college, with all the resources that are out there today. This group can point them out to them."
Carlos Vera, a community outreach specialist for Parks, Recreation and Community Services, sat at the back of the room. He translated the presentation for three parents from English to Spanish.
"We want to make sure we accommodate everyone," Sutphin said. "We want to make sure students and parents get everything they can out of this program."