Life of a Fellow: Kathleen
At Bowdoin College, Kathleen double majored in Africana Studies and Spanish, and minored in Theatre. As a Fellow at Kensington High School, she is working hard to empower her students through education and to break down barriers to necessary resources. We couldn’t be happier to have her at 12+ this year!
“The first important thing to remember is that you are not obligated to put difficult past experiences on display if you don’t want to.” I paused. It’s hard to gauge a reaction off of a sea of black squares and artsy profile pictures, but I wanted to make sure that the point got through.
Kathleen and the rest of the KHS team set up a one-stop-shop for FAFSAs, PHEAAs, and college applications on senior portrait day - a rare opportunity to see students in person during this virtual year!
We were about halfway through my Kensington High School site team’s presentation to 4-year-bound seniors about the ins and outs of the application process. I knew from my own experience applying to college that some schools offered personal essay prompts focused on formative (read: “painful”) events in students’ lives, but in the course of my time as a Fellow, I’ve come to see how pervasive that option is, and how in many programs and scholarships aimed at low-income students of color, divulging one’s trauma is not an option at all.
That’s not to say that my students aren’t capable of delivering on that request. The past year has been an open wound never allowed to heal, to say nothing of many students’ pre-COVID circumstances. The young people I’ve worked with have no shortage of “obstacles they’ve overcome” and “adversity they’ve resisted,” but whether they’ve suffered or not isn’t the point. The real question is why so many colleges and scholarships succumb to the temptation of distilling a child’s abilities and qualifications down to that suffering.
Our students are so much more than the cumulative total of the negative things they’ve been through, and throughout this fellowship I’ve been grateful to be working with a group of people who know that to be true and demonstrate that truth through their actions. The work that I’ve done and seen at 12Plus, more than just helping students “overcome the obstacles in front of them,” encourages and supports them in dreaming beyond those obstacles. My favorite memories with students have been listening to them rhapsodize about what they like to do, and what they aspire to do in the future. To give young children a nurturing environment to play and explore; to contribute to the infrastructure that keeps the city moving; to bring comfort and camaraderie to every patient in their care. To harness their talents to help others, and to be proud of themselves.
It’s not an easy thing, to confide your hopes in someone you barely know, and honestly I’m honored every time a student chooses to do so with me. The barriers they’ve faced are by no means insignificant, but now, as in that PowerPoint on college applications, I want to make sure my students recognize that the passions they hold, the ways that they assert themselves and what they want in the midst of a crazy world, are not insignificant either. I’m sure an admissions counselor or scholarship rep would be moved to learn about not just their traumas, but their ambitions and their joys. I certainly have.
One half of a “Happy New Year” message to Kensington High School’s students!