The Choice Program, run out of University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), hosts college nights in different universities all throughout Baltimore. Partnering with the Center of Community, Service, and Justice (CCSJ) at Loyola, they bring in highschoolers and expose them to the different options college has to offer.
The program runs every Thursday night. It starts with a dinner at Boulder for students and volunteers to bond over a meal. They participate in educational activities, showing them the different majors they can pursue at Loyola. The program ends the night with physical activity, like playing basketball at the Fitness and Aquatic Center, for example.
Stephanie Gonzalez, Assistant Director of Vocational Programming at UMBC, spoke about what The Choice Program really means for participants.
“I’ve heard feedback from the coordinators saying ‘Oh I can go to college, I can go to this program, I can go to Loyola.’ It’s more of an eye-opener to the possibilities they have,” Gonzalez said.
The program aims to mentor Baltimore students to pursue higher education. The students previously visited WLOY, Loyola’s radio station, to learn about radio broadcasts and music. The students showed great interest in producing because it was something they had never seen before. The volunteers continue to push different educational activities each week to inspire the students.
CCSJ Youth Engagement Program Coordinator Andrew Haye reflected on the positive impact of the program on the students. He mentored a student who would always come to the program joking around and not taking it seriously. At the end of the semester, the student approached Haye and told him that ended up applying to college because of the new insights he gained.
“They come into a college campus and see that it’s something tangible, and then go forth and pursue the possibility. Even if they don’t want to pursue college, they’re getting to explore their own interests because college is so multifaceted. You get to explore so many disciplines throughout life,” Haye said.
The goal is to connect students with strong leaders in the Baltimore community, and how any path they want to achieve is within their reach. The students create connections and relationships with their mentors and other volunteers.
“The Baltimore community has been historically underfunded. Some communities don’t receive as many resources or opportunities to make connections with people and colleges. I think The Choice Program can really help bring that kind of light into their experience at school,” Amanda Laryea ‘27, a student mentor with The Choice Program, said.
The Choice Program highlights the different career paths a student can take. Students may discover interests they did not know they had. Through creating connections within the Baltimore community, these students are introduced to new opportunities.
“That’s why it’s The ‘Choice’ Program, presenting opportunity,” Gonzalez said.