Attendees were welcomed by Kim Alexander from the USC Government and Civic Engagement Office and Polly Williams, UFC President. The SoCal Vocals livened things up with a stellar performance and UFC College Sponsorship graduate Dee Hankins shared his story and some inspiring remarks for the students. Check out Dee's entire speech >
"The best thing you can ever ask for in life is somebody or something that is there when you're nothing and there when you become something. And today, you have the opportunity to become something. Today, you have the opportunity to learn something. Today, you have the opportunity to expand those labels that you have right now."
Dee Hankins, UFC College Sponsorship Graduate
Students in the 7-12 grades, living in foster care, spent the day interacting with current college scholars and alumni, participated in interactive workshops and learned from experts what it takes to go to college, had questions answered about the college application process, learned about college affordability through financial aid and met a ton of college representatives during the college and resource fair.
Attendees relaxed during the lunch session and enjoyed some facepainting activities and tunes from 97.1 Amp Radio. "Introduction to Campus Life" activities provided throughout the day helped get the youth excited about heading to college and showed a side of college outside of academics. The day concluded with remarks from Dan Schnur, Director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC.
A big thank you to everyone involved in creating a successful college prep event to help foster youth get and stay on the path to college!