Lead to Succeed Meetup #2

Another amazing Lead to Succeed Meet Up - check!  Today, Lead to Succeed students trekked to Marquette University, where the Marquette chapter of Students for Educational Reform (SFER) hosted a College Application Lab day exclusively for LTSers!  College students from Madison, UWM, and Marquette teamed up to execute an action-packed, super-valuable lineup of activities, including:

• Speaker on how to select a post-secondary pathway
  
• Speaker on tips and tricks on college admissions processes  
• Small group Q&A sessions with college students
  
• Panel discussion on what to expect from college with a diverse array of panelists, including alumni, ROTC scholar, leadership from cultural diversity groups on campus, and more! 
• College selection and application work time in a computer lab at Marquette - each high school student guided by a volunteer college student
  
  

Special thanks to Marquette SFER leaders Luke Krajcik and Sarah Hartman for spearheading this event.

Last but not least, congratulations to Shanice Moore from Washington High School for receiving the Meet Up Award for earning the most Lead to Succeed points - of all students in the program!  Shanice, we hope you put that $50 Amazon gift card to good use. 

Lunchtime!

Panelists answering questions on post-secondary life, scholarships, admission processes, and more

Group photo with panelists

Lead to Succeed Meetup #1

Lead to Succeed Meet Ups had an awesome kickoff today.  Students gathered in the Lead to Succeed office in the morning, and parents were invited to join them for a continental breakfast.  Petra Duecker, Director, did a brief overview of Lead to Succeed for the parents, highlighting college and career readiness activities and service learning goals.  Then, the students headed over to UWM's School for Urban Planning and Architecture, where they heard from renowned professor Nancy Frank.  Professor Frank's talk was focused on water infrastructure in Milwaukee, and why water is so critically important in the region.  After SARUP, the students walked to the admissions office at UWM, where they learned about some of the things to consider when picking a college.  The day wrapped up with a tour of UWM given by UWM students.  

Bryson Rome-Martin from Destiny High School received the big Meet Up award for earning the most Lead to Succeed points - of all the students in the program!  His prize?  A $50 Amazon gift card.  

Lead to Succeed Kickoff Conference

This weekend is our official 2014 LTS kick off Conference that will be held on November 1st 2014 at the University of Milwaukee in Lubar School of Business.  Festivities start at 12:30 and goes until 4:30, we invite you to come and enjoy a day full of interesting people and activities, below is the schedule and we encourage you all to come and enjoy the conference.

2014 LTS Kick Off Conference

November 1, 2014 from 12:30-4:30

UW-Milwaukee Lubar School of Business

12:30 YOUR STRENGTHS

            12:30 Registration & Lunch

12:40 Strengths Mural Activity

12:50 Conference Called to Order

12:55 Showcase Strength Mural Tiles

1:00 YOUR FUTURE

1:00 UWM Welcome on behalf of CCBLLR – Samantha Bickert

1:05 Lead to Succeed Alumna – Elizabeth O’Hara

1:30 YOUR COMMUNITY  

            30 Minute Rotations:

            Citizenship Workshop

            World Café Session  

            Leadership & Team Building Workshop

3:00 Tweet & Snack Break

3:15 YOUR CAREER

            30 Minute Rotations:

                        Industry Scavenger Hunt  

                        Personal Branding – Accenture

4:15 YOUR TEAM

            The Big Picture - Karin Smith, President of CCC Board of Directors

4:30 YOU’RE READY!

Students and College Project Managers are Excited to Get Things Going.

Our college project managers and students have finally meant and finished their first sessions together.  They are all very excited to get the ball rolling and start on their projects for the semester.  Here are a few blog posts from our CPM's about their experience while meeting their students for the first time, and a little of what they have learned.

The first session with our project team went great! everyone worked together, was respectful and put in effort towards group activities and communication! I was surprised to see even a medium amount of enthusiasm just because I know how hard it is to be a high school student and usually wanting to focus on friends and fun rather than putting in the extra hour of learning and group work.  So far I don't see any weaknesses, but I see many strengths including the use of good communication, respect, and participation.

-Leah Gazinski

I was pleasantly surprised with how much the students wanted to work on this project. They were all focusing and participating. They were very excited about the opportunity for a job. I believe that one of their strengths is that most of them are determined to focus and do well on their project. I believe that their weakness is the few students who do not feel the need to participate. They do not pay attention and even attempt to distract the other students,

-Brianna Seybold

I have found that the water industry, especially in Milwaukee, is currently booming. There are new job opportunities in research and innovation. Due to the enormous fresh water Lake Michigan provides us, we have the opportunity to potentially increase economic and resource production/preservation. The more jobs we can create and the more innovation we can inspire, the more we can improve current living situations for those around us and preserve this precious and valuable resource.

- Jacob Herzfeld

This past week at our third meeting there were quite a few more kids! Some did have to leave for Drivers Ed about half way through but while they were there, they were excited about being in the program and the opportunities Lead to Succeed has to offer. We played a game where we had to write things that we needed water for and had to place the sticky notes that we had written on, on one of the three boards. They said, “used to make things, used for fun, and used for health.” The kids as well as the college project managers came up with a lot of good ideas for each board.

The one with the least was “used to make things.” The next game we played that introduced water was a guessing game. Justin showed us a picture of an object and we had to guess individually how much water it took to make that object. There were a lot of surprised looks when we found out the correct answers! It was fun because it got us interacting with the kids and made us feel more comfortable with each other. I look forward to next week when we start an art project with the kids and start diving into our ideas for our final project at the end of the year!

- Karen Linhart

This weeks meeting was full of surprises! I was able to start our meeting off with an icebreaker to get the students interacting in teams. With the attendance turn out for this week I was able to have two large teams compete in a “throw a marshmallow into your teammate’s mouth contest!” This was AWESOME! The kids loved it and we were able to discuss strategies and reflect on how each team communicated together.

After the icebreaker, the fun continued! The students then interacted with each other in smaller groups to play the price is right: Water Edition! The students and I were all surprised to see how important water is in our daily lives. You could see the shock on their faces when they found out that you need water to make just about everything around them; cars, books, and even the plastic chairs they were sitting on!  Many students were even making their own examples on how they use water everyday in unfamiliar ways to the class that went outside the box of just using it to shower and brush their teeth in the morning. The students are eager to see what will come in the next few weeks and to learn more about the impacts on water around them.

- Melissa Palmen

The students and managers are putting the finishing touches on their projects

The semester is coming to a end, our college project managers and students are getting the finishing touches done on their projects and we all are excited to see what they come up with.  Reading through these particular blogs you can see that many of the managers had a few challenges that they had to overcome and the experience that they have had thus far with their students.  We are extremely excited to see what students come up with and how much everyone has learned not only about water but also about themselves.

“My experiences with Lead to Succeed has impacted my understanding with water. I am now more informed on what is happening around me. I didn't really think about stuff that goes on with water. I go to the grocery store buy a pack of water and didn't realize that I am spending more than I realized. Water that you get from home is cheaper than the water that you buy at the store. Also, the difference between the two has no difference in quality. Your water at home actually may be better for you in general. These are just some things that I have learned from my group. 

My project has one step left and will be complete. They have finished their slide show and are waiting for a group member to upload their voices in the slide show. So, one step left and their slide show on water will be complete. The challenges that we face in Lead to Succeed is not how the project is turning out but whether or not people will show up. People in the groups have jobs or other activities with school that sometimes derail them from going to Lead to Succeed. That is why it is always helpful that when you are in the groups you know what is happening with every part in the project so when someone is gone it might be your turn to step up and solve the problem within the group. Instead of waiting til so and so shows up again. 

Everyone in the group is great. They are regulars that are always there day in and day out. I feel that my group worked hard on their project. Each person knew what their job was and all got together to get the project done. I do not have a particular but I have the group as a whole. I feel that with out each other in the group they probably would not have gotten as far as they did. Each person had a role and fulfilled their role perfectly. I feel that my group should be happy with what they have accomplished and not giving up on their goal of finishing what they started. Great job!”

-Joel Guidinger

“At the Wisconsin Conservatory for Lifelong Learning, there are two projects being worked on. One, a board game, is a presentation for elementary school students, while the other, an animated video, is a presentation for middle school students.

The board game group, which I am working with, has pretty much completed the game. It’s put together well, and we ran through it at the last session to make sure everything runs smoothly (it does). My experience with this group is not having much of an impact on my understanding of water issues in Southeastern Wisconsin. Many of the trivia questions are things I already knew (water cycle, what water is used for, etc.) but this is to be expected as the game is for third grade students.

I plan on watching the animated video that the other group has made, and I have a feeling that that will give me a better understanding of water issues in the area. I believe that group has completed their video, but as I haven’t been working with them, I have not yet had the chance to view it. There’s been a drastic change in attitude from mid-February (when I began working with the students) to now (beginning of April). There has been a great increase in productivity, which can be attributed to their projects taking shape and actually having specific goals for each student and each session in general. The next session is not for three more weeks, as the Conservatory is now on spring break.”

-Nick Lister

“This week we have spring break so we do not meet this week. But as the weeks have been flying by we have accomplished a lot in our projects. As the semester is coming to an end, our attendance at the beginning of the semester was not very high, but lately we have had great attendance in our after school program. It is such a great feeling that our numbers are high again and our student's are participating! It makes myself feel great because, it shows they enjoy our presence and being here. Our projects are coming a long well and our student's have been very hard working and have accomplished a lot! 

This service learning site has been very fun and very interesting. We are not only teaching our student's but they are also teaching us. We have learned all about water, careers with water, and sanitation processes in Milwaukee because of all the use of water. A majority of time we all don't realize how much water we are using. This service learning project is very unique because people don't realize how many galloons of water you use each and every day!
I really enjoy these kids and this service learning project!  It has been a great experience and a blessing to help these kids!”

-Mercedes Brown

“Unfortunately, we have not reached the water topic in my Environmental Science class at UWM. We will be starting that unit in the next week or so. In the past I have learned a lot about water the different ways it can impact our environment, so I’m not learning too much with this project. But, I’ve never really had to focus on the different types of water bottles and where the water comes from. In the beginning of this project the students did some research on water bottles such as FIJI, Smart Water, Ice Mountain and Dasani, and surprisingly some of the information they researched was new to me. Overall, this project has been pretty informative in ways I was expecting it to be.

The art part of the project has been a little challenging because it’s taking time to paint bottle caps and glue them onto a poster. Whenever you work with paint and a time limit, things can get pretty tough but the students I’ve been working with have been outstanding. Honestly, they stay focused throughout the hour and a half, and continue to socialize with me and the other students. They all work really well together and don’t argue about who wants to paint, who wants to research, and who wants to glue. Since they all work as a team, this certain challenge hasn’t been a big problem at all!

Most of the students are from different schools, and they’re different age groups so some of the students themselves were meeting each other for the first time. With that being said, they’ve been getting to know each other and they find things in common which brings them closer. I’ve been working with the art project and the research part, so I’ve been talking to different students each time. I would rather try to get to know different students in the short time I have because they’re all so different and I’ve never worked with this type of group before. But, on the other side of things, I have connected a little bit with the other mentor who also goes to UWM. We’re in the same science class so we get to talk about our projects, tests, and assignments. She’s easy to talk to and that makes the session even better. ”

-Rudi Hauser

Spring Break is right around the corner

With spring break right around the corner, our College Project Managers are getting to their half way points on the projects.  They are just as excited for spring break too, but more excited about how their projects are coming along.   Take a look for yourselves and learn a little about the field trips that they have taken.

“I  have been working with students at Bay View High School Thursday evenings in an after school program. This past Thursday was actually a really fun week for the students. We went on a field trip to Joan's Island. Many student's did not know what Joan's Island was and they were able to become educated with the idea of water sanitation and the ins and outs of what it requires to run a sanitation plant. We met at the High School and talked about the trip a little bit, and then around 4:45 we took a bus to Joan's Island.

 I think this field trip was very important because of the student's water based projects. These students are interviewing and photographing people who are underrepresented in the Milwaukee water facilities. Majority of the people they are talking to who are underrepresented are women and people of different races, other than white. We were able to tour the sanitation facility, see the stages in which the water is filtered, and in addition the employee who gave us a tour of the island spoke to us about the job availability, which seems pretty abundant. She stated that someone could go to a 2 year college and receive an associate’s degree, work in water sanitation and make more than a teacher's salary.

I think many of the students really enjoyed the sanitation plant because it gave them a chance to experience something they normally would not. Also, it was just a chance to get them out of a classroom sitting in front of computers and give them first hand knowledge about how the sanitation process works. This field trip was a great experience overall from the students and for myself as a college project manager.”

            -Cleo Stenzel

“My project has been coming along on schedule and the high schoolers have been giving their
all to make sure the blog comes together and gets completed. As far as barriers, the only barrier that we have come across is attendance.

I feel that my role is meaningful in the project because I was able to lend extra hands and assist with the research and editing so that we could submit a professional and complete project. Thankfully, I have been able to be engaged with the students and they have been able to teach me a thing or two as well.”

            -Kimberly Schmidt

“My team of students are making steady progress on their project; during the two field trips in the last two weeks, they took photos and conducted interviews with people who worked there. 

The only potential barriers at this point might be whether or not they will all collaborate on completing the project. Some students seem more engaged than others – however, I think the levels of enthusiasm and positivity at meetings have improved from what I saw just a few weeks ago. I have a feeling that a good deal of that will be overcome once they are in the stage of designing the look of the site, choosing the photos, and being able to see their work on all the different parts of the project starting to come together as a finished product.

 I feel engaged and comfortable with the students – it’s a solid group. I’ve had a few good conversations with a couple of them and they have been more responsive than not. I actually do feel like a meaningful role in the project as well – by stroke of luck, my art experience has come in rather handy! I’ll be able to help them along more actively with their decisions in designing the site, I was able to provide suggestions for exhibition spaces, and I’ll be bringing in my mat-cutter and teaching them how to cut matboard frames to make the presentation of the photos really pop.”

            -Christopher Miller

“My team project seems to be coming alone OKAY. The students are very burnt out and I think they are already in spring break mode. I still think there is a lot of work to be done before next week's video shooting. I feel as though each time I come the kids are doing less and less, but I try my best to get them motivated. Our group still may need to practice their scripts more before next week and they also need to finish making the water superhero's costume. In other words, there's a lot of work to be done in a small amount of time. I have faith. 

The barriers to my team's success would definitely be their attitudes and lack of motivation towards the entire project. Each time I show up on Wednesday afternoons, the group has a very slow start to whatever it is we need to accomplish for the day.  However, I think about halfway through the meeting, I can generally get whomever I'm working with more in the "zone".

Yes and No. There are some days that I come in and can really get a majority of the group motivated to do the water project, and there are other days where I feel completely useless because it all starts with the students.  They need to take an interest first in this project and feel passionate enough to want to be there. I try my best to emphasize the importance of the project, but in reality, they're teenagers! I think in order to become even more engaged, I could offer to help more when it comes to the tasks they are unsure how to begin.  For an example, Molly told a few member of the group last week to start making the cape for the superhero. The two group members just starred at each other like they had no idea what to do.  That's when I jumped in, took their cape, and started to give a million different ideas on how to make this sheet a cool looking cape. I'd say at that moment I saw their light bulbs turn on. Sometimes everyone just needs a little push.”

            -Aimee Dobersztyn

“Working at the Bayview high school has been a very great experience. This experience has shown me what student's learn throughout their community and what they can do for their future. Our project is working in the water industry throughout Milwaukee. This project is coming around very well. Our student's are very dedicated and working well. They all have their independent roles and work hard to complete them. For this project we have one complicated barrier. Attendance.

Weeks go by and attendance is usually great or really low. Attendance is one component that we need to work on to have success. Success is exactly what we need to accomplish this project. Furthermore, I think being a College Project Manager is a very helping tool to our students. Us being there is someone they can ask questions to and if they need help. I think a College Project Manager means to them as a guide or helper and is someone they can relate to because of not the wide age difference. I think its important that we engage with the student's so it shows them we are interested in their projects and we want to learn more. 

I think this service learning project is very interesting and unique. It doesn't compare to the other service learning projects which is why it is unique. I am thankful that I get to be apart of this service learning project because it is working around kids and it is a good experience for my future career.”

            -Mercedes Brown

"The team project is coming along great. Spring break for the school I am helping out with is coming up soon, so the projects are speeding up quick. The group is on the finishing touches to their project. All that they have left is to put their actual voices in the presentation that they made. The students made a slideshow and are editing the slideshow to replace the computer voices and put in their own voices. This is the last step with their project. The slideshow is complete.

The barriers that the team is dealing with is that students are not showing up to Lead to Succeed. This is causing a problem within the group. Some of the students for whatever reason cannot make the Tuesday class and because of this do not know what is happening when they return. So the students who do show up are reminding them what they have done or showing them what they are going to do. Some students are now joining Lead to Succeed, so plugging them into groups is difficult. The reason why it is difficult is because the new students do not know what is happening and trying to find a role for them can be challenging. The way that we overcome the problems is easy. We inform them what needs to be done and how they can be included within the group. Each student has a job that they need to do and when someone new comes in they help them out. The students are excited about doing this project. So, when someone new shows up they want to inform them on what is happening and are inviting them to be part of the group.

I do feel that I am part of the project. I try to ask as many questions as to why the students are doing this or doing that. I am trying to be part of the group and maybe give suggestions when students are stuck on what to say or write. I may not know much about what they are doing but I try to explain to them what they could do, or where to look up information. I try to be part of the group just like everyone else tries to do. I feel that if you act like a group member and not like their boss, it is much better for you and for the students to get focused and do their project."

            -Joel Guidinger

Lets take a look at progress that is being made

Our college project managers are getting to know their students more and more each week.  The students are really enjoying themselves and the work that they have been getting done.  See for yourself from our college project managers.

“The basics of how water is processed not just in Southeastern Wisconsin but everywhere is what my group is discussing. The concepts my group is discussing deal with understanding the basics of where water comes from. They are going to be explaining this to 3rd and 4th graders. They want their point to come across as simple as possible. They will be discussing where our water comes from, how it goes from large bodies of water, to sanitized drinking water in our homes. They are creating a slide show that will show how this happens and at the same time describe each step of the process. 

I think that everything my group is explaining is well thought out and relevant to the topic of where water comes from. Everything pertains back to where water comes from and the importance of that water in Southeastern Wisconsin. 

The project is progressing great. Each week more and more ideas are sorted across the table to come up with the best ideas for their project. I feel with each and every week they want to show that they know what they are talking about and sometimes can cause conflict with more discussing and less doing. I feel though they are understanding that they will have to work together and start doing more with their slide show and stick with their ideas and not change them. Each person in the group has something to contribute. Whether it is coming up with ideas, to working on the slide shows, or drawing up a sketch of what they should talk about next. They all work together great and are improving each and every week I see them.” 

-Joel Guidinger

 “At the Wisconsin Conservatory for Lifelong Learning, there are two projects being worked on. One, a board game, is a presentation for elementary school students, while the other, an animated video, is a presentation for middle school students.

The board game is coming along well. At the last session I attended (I was unable to make the March 11^th session), the group had made progress on laying out the idea for the board, along with coming up with a handful of trivia questions to integrate into the game. I can only assume this progress continued during the session on the 11^th.   As I had been assigned to work with the board game group, I’m not sure as to how far the animated video group is. I’m looking forward to seeing their progress at next week’s session.”

-Nick Lister

“At this last meeting, the students I work with were perusing the web sites of the Global Water Center and Jones Island, two places which they'll be visiting with Lead to Succeed in the coming weeks. In addition to touring both facilities to learn about what they do there, the students will be conducting interviews for their ongoing project highlighting the perspectives of various people working in water-related careers. We came across some interesting information. I was already aware that Jones Island was where MMSD made Milorganite, a commercially-available organic fertilizer. However, I learned something new about our local water history: Milwaukee's own Jones Island was the oldest municipal water treatment plant in the country!

 This information is relevant to the group project because it is a source of local pride that they may have previously been unaware of. Hopefully, interesting tidbits like that can drum up a little extra enthusiasm about the field trip and water-related career opportunities in general.

 The group project is progressing nicely so far. Two meetings ago, I worked with students to map out a timeline and division of labor to help manage the project and break it down into stages and specific duties. Then, I talked with Alex - one of the students who is interested in working with the photography portion - and we brainstormed some options for exhibition spaces to stage an auction of the photos they will be shooting. We came up with several possibilities, a few of which were conveniently located in the school's neighborhood. I also offered to teach the students how to cut mat-board frames for the photos once they have the prints, since I have a mat-cutter I can bring from home and plenty of experience with it.”

-Christopher Miller

“Working along with the high schoolers at my project site we have been able to find out a lot of information about water and what is actually in the water we drink. They have been quite engaged and  interested in getting the word out through their blog so people know exactly what is going on with the water we not only get out of the tap but the water bottles we purchase.

This information is relevant because my team is creating a blog and trying to inform the community about what they are drinking  and what additives are in the water and why it is important for everyone to stay hydrated.   We are on track with our blog and thankfully have had a team that is hard working and excited about learning more about water!”

-Kimberly Schmidt