This week in our continued Life of a Fellow series, we hear Erin's reflections on the wide variety of paths our students take. 

Each PLUS Center maintains a vast spreadsheet to track students’ goals. We record their hobbies and jobs, brainstorming process and GPA progress, their career goals and college plans. It is remarkable to see the variety of schools and plans that find themselves on our list. In my individual advising group of just under thirty students, I advise a future funeral director and dance studio owner, property managers, writers and sociologists, and more than a few future presidents - all of whom I am ready to vote for. For eighty seniors, we have well over a hundred  colleges and goals. I can't help but smile when thinking about the buoyant plans these students make. They will be the first to tell a willing ear about the stresses of their rigorous, dynamic high school experience. Yet, this hasn't molded them all into the same academic-focused form, or broken down dreams of a rigorous, dynamic college experience.

It is so important that our students understand that earning their degrees, completing their prerequisite courses, being placed in an apprenticeship, or completing a term with any number of work readiness or service year organizations are all equal accomplishments. I love being part of helping them achieve these goals. I love working with students to bring these goals to fruition without having them take on massive debt. Focusing not only on academic and personal, but also financial fit is one of the revolutionary things I get to do as a 2 PLUS Fellow. Valuing education equally, in all its varied forms, is one of the most exciting parts of planning students’ futures with them. That's why the breadth of the college goals represented on our spreadsheet delights me. We get to see in action not only the college-going culture we talk about creating, but also the development of a culture that prizes success based on individual goals and does not see competition as necessary to evaluating success.                  

   The colleges our students choose make me smile as well. As 12 PLUS, we work hard to elevate and advertise the Community College of Philadelphia and other regional community colleges, PASSHE (PA State System of Higher Education) Schools, and Penn State Branch campuses. These schools more often than not make it on to students’ goals lists.  We strive for these schools because we want to combat the idea that the best choice is always to go to the most competitive college to which you are admitted. This was the mentality at my high school, and it is how I wound up attending one of the most expensive universities in the country. I loved my education but I had to work three jobs to stay there. For students who need to hear that cautionary tale, I happily share it. But for most, it is enough to have a cheering section of caring people who are excited about any healthy plan they formulate - no matter which path it involves.

Meet Danielle! A 2016 graduate of Rutger University with a communications degree now working as a Fellow at Penn Treaty High School, this New Jersey native has made Philadelphia her new home. We are so happy to work with her and see how much she has valued working with us. 

Everytime I try to brainstorm what I want to write about 12+ and my foundational moments as a Fellow, one word always flashes like a marquee: community. I was more than a little intimidated to start this job, as I’ve always felt like a very awkward person with peers, younger people, older people, and pretty much the entire universe. I moved here a few months ago, and for a while the loneliness of a new, big city was so tangible that it was almost suffocating. I feel endless gratitude for the open arms of Penn Treaty and 12+ who have made this city an actual home for me. Getting to work alongside people who have become important friends and students who continue to inspire me to do my best has made Philadelphia feel a little smaller and less intimidating. I’m far from a morning person, but waking up in the morning to walk the hallways of Penn Treaty and see dozens of smiling faces, wishing me a good morning and even throwing me a compliment about my outfit every now and again. In fact, I feel lucky to get up every morning and take my blissful walk to work, running into a few students on the way.

Danielle celebrates students with over 95% attendance at Penn Treaty's Carni-fall party

I have a community in my neighborhood now, which is one of the biggest perks of working at Penn Treaty. It’s been comforting joy to see so many familiar, friendly faces around Fishtown. It warms my entire existence to see how much the teachers and administration at Penn Treaty genuinely care about this community, and reaffirms that this is where I belong and will thrive. The proof of the community that exists within Penn Treaty was exhibited one Saturday morning a few months ago during a community service event. It was the most wonderful day I’ve had in a long time and I had the opportunity to recruit my roommates to volunteer with painting murals at Penn Treaty through City Year. I was so excited to have them see the school, as well as all of the teachers, students, and community members come together on a Saturday morning to get covered in paint for the sake of this beautiful school.

I find myself thinking a lot about myself in high school, and how I wanted to keep to myself and be a stubborn, cranky teenager. It makes me the most blown away kind of happy when I see the stark contrast between my own behavior and how outgoing and invested these students are. My heart grows approximately three sizes each time a student pops into the PLUS Center simply to say hi, or I hear “Miss, I want to play YOU in chess today”, or a student wants to share their art with me. When this happens, I know that I am exactly where I need to be. I can’t wait to see how much our students can continue to help me to grow and learn (especially in chess, which they graciously and patiently teach and re-teach me on a regular basis). Everything that seems challenging that comes along with being a 12+ Fellow also comes along with a major positive too. I am overwhelmed by the compassion that Penn Treaty students show me every day. I am happy beyond articulation, I am lucky to know our Penn Treaty students, and I am thankful for 12+.

Danielle and her fellow Fellow, Elise Lee.

For our second Meet the Fellows blog post, we introduce Elise Lee. Elise, a New Jersey native, graduated form Tufts University with a Psychology degree in 2017. Since then, she has moved to Philadelphia and spent her time advocating for students, discovering new music and movies, and honing in on her chess skills. 

Lunches at Penn Treaty are remarkably lively. Students who are eager for their only break in the day express their excitement by participating in a series of games and activities. My first week at Penn Treaty was colored by these forty minutes, in which I learned that I am a fantastic chess player—a brilliant, hard-edged competitor of one of the most challenging puzzles ever created.

Or actually, I played against a couple of first-year boys who had just learned to play chess, and ended up beating them once or twice. Regardless, I developed a notorious identity worthy of competition, primarily with the freshman class. Truthfully, I had never thought that my hours of playing chess against a computer in the technology section of Costco would be useful. Yet, my days at Penn Treaty are filled with students coming to the PLUS Center to throw down the gauntlet. A common phrase is, “Miss! You versus me, today, at lunch!”

Despite such confidence in demanding a match, nearly every student I have played against has accepted both victory and loss with extreme grace. Nearly every game has ended with a handshake and the conclusion that it was a “good game”--give or take a couple cheeky jabs at the opponent’s strategies. Such sportsmanship is indicative of the culture of community established at Penn Treaty. Students are motivated by the precedents set by invested staff members who work tirelessly to provide positive learning environments. At Penn Treaty, it is not uncommon for staff members to contribute personal resources for their students. Many teachers have been known to provide proper business attire for students to wear on job interviews; to take home students’ empty backpacks that are in need of a wash; or to call each parent directly on their cell phones to personally notify them of their student’s performance.

It has been an absolute privilege to walk alongside the Penn Treaty team, as a member of 12Plus, and to learn from the incredible individuals that work at this school. Similarly to the ideals of Penn Treaty, relationship building is also upheld as the cornerstone of 12Plus.  I have been so grateful to have the opportunity to surround myself with humans who are capable of compassion and selflessness in order to build new relationships, and maintain preexisting ones. As the busy season of college applications encroaches upon Team Penn Treaty, I am looking forward to continually being humbled by these experiences, and hopefully, to continue being a feared competitor of chess!