Neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night nor, even the 2nd annual April blizzard could keep the Edina Rotary from meeting. Gordy Lewis did the guest introductions. Raj Kumar brought his two daughters, Aashna and Kareena, as guests. Sam Thompson brought Theresa and Tim Schugel and Susz Stiles brought Tom Key.
The following announcements were made. Renee Harberts announced that they had a successful bingo event with 40 attending and Mike Opitz as master of ceremonies. There was a reminder about the Rotary district conference on May 17. Mike Sitek announced that there will be an event on behalf of Feed My Starving Children on May 4 from 9 to 11 AM.
Hannelore Brucker delivered a grant check to Randy Prebil of Hearts and Hammers for their work in restoring homes and touching lives. Dave Hatzung delivered another grant check in the amount of $1500 to a representative of Hearts and Hands, an organization that provides support for families of children with cancer.Sylvester Thomas gave his classification talk. His classification is financial services. His sponsor is Greg Hanks. Sylvester hails from Old Saybrook, Connecticut. He attended Springfield College in Massachusetts with a degree in physical education, has spent 37 years in the financial services area and is currently the branch manager for Foresters Financial Services. His primary activity is to recruit and train financial advisors. He has been married to Tanya for the past 31 years and has 3 children.
The speaker introduction was done by Valerie Burke who is the co-chair of the public image committee. Our speaker was Alvin Abraham. Mr. Abraham is the Dean of the Dougherty Family College at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. This unique program provides a pathway for students who otherwise might not have been able to receive a 4 year college degree. The program is 2 years long, results in an Associate Degree and is designed to build skills to allow success in further Bachelor’s Degree programs and in life. Mr. Abraham pointed out that there is a wide discrepancy in college graduation rates between those from high income families (8/10) and those from low income families (1/10). He also pointed out that Minnesota ranks 34th, nationally, in overall graduation rates, but 48th and 50th, respectively, in graduation rates for Hispanics and Blacks. These graduation rates are especially alarming when Minnesota ranks 10th in having jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree.
The program seeks academic excellence and works to remove both academic and social barriers through such things as faculty mentorship, tutoring, small class sizes in a cohort model and availability of social workers. The program also aims to remove financial barriers. The cost of the program is $15,000 per year, 50% of which is covered by the state, $1000 to $2000 by the student himself and the balance by donations. Thus far $39 million in donations has been raised for this program.
Students are recruited from all over the Twin Cities with up to 50 high schools represented. There are no ACT or SAT criteria for admission, but all students are extensively interviewed. Another important part of the program is the internship opportunity provided to students. These internships provide a range of experiences for students, including in the corporate world, that prepare them for life in the working world. The program’s first class graduates this May and all graduates with GPA> 2.5 are admitted into the 4 year Bachelor’s Degree program at St. Thomas where they are subsidized. Currently they are retaining 62% of their students and 52% have a GPA > 2.5. This was an interesting presentation and it was inspiring to see that someone is effectively addressing the existing disparities in higher education.
Sonja Tengdin graciously thanked Mr. Abraham for sharing his insight and dedication to educating those studenst who might not otherwise be able to afford a college program. John Flynn closed the meeting by reminding everybody that next week is Vocational Ethics Day and the club meeting time will be early, beginning at 11:30 am.
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