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Claris Chang | for The Phoenix

High School Conversations brought 40 high school students from Philadelphia to Swarthmore for College Day.

BY HANNA KOZLOWSKA

In print | Published December 3, 2009

Students from Swarthmore Asian Organization, in cooperation with Deshi and Han, brought 40 high school students from low-income Philadelphia families to Swarthmore two weeks ago for College Day, an event designed to broaden high school students’ knowledge about higher education and to spark a discussion about Asian-American issues.

College Day is the first of two components of High School Conversations, a project initiated by Arthur Chyan ’10 last year. In the spring, Swarthmore students will return the visit by conducting workshops and facilitate discussions at the student’s school.

Gina Hart ’01, an English teacher and adviser to Bodine’s Asian Club, accompanied students from all four grades at both Bodine and Central High School in Philadelphia.

“I want the students to see themselves in a place like this, to think: ‘I could go here,’” Hart said.

Even though a few seniors from Bodine apply to Swarthmore, the program’s aim is not to convince them to do so. 

“Swat is an example of a ‘high achieving’ liberal arts institution. It is reflective of other institutions,” Chyan said.

Both Chyan and Vivienne Layne ’11, who serves as a liaison between SAO and the high schools, come from public high schools. They said that there isn’t enough college counseling, especially when it comes to providing students with information about selective liberal arts institutions.

“I think it is important to have intra-Asian efforts to help low-income kids access higher education,” Layne said.

Faculty support on the part of the college was offered by former college history professor Sonia Lee and Debra Kordon-Brown of the Lang Center.

The biggest shock to the organizers of High School Conversations was that the majority of the students had never heard of need-based financial aid, a topic introduced to them by Director of Financial Aid Laura Talbot during the financial aid talk.

“Coming from low-income families, financial aid is what is the most important for us,” said Charimar Valentine, one of the three seniors applying to Swarthmore this year. Valentine attended the program.

College Day is the first phase of the High School Conversations Project.  

“We wanted to start off with a safe topic which everyone can discuss,” Chyan said.

After starting the conversations, which developed relationships with the students, SAO wants to venture on to discuss Asian-American issues.

While they wanted to create an identity program, Layne said that the Lang Center had some objections. “Identity work requires training,” she said.

They will, however, conduct workshops and sessions for the students concerning Asian-American history, racial interactions, discrimination and representation in the media.

“The students are very curious about the role of race every day. We picked up on that last year,” Chyan said.  

This interest was reflected in the discussion at the Diversity Panel which the students attended, when they asked questions such as “How are awkward racial situations in class are dealt with?”

“We want to create safe and supportive space,” Chyan said.

He said that he wants the high school students to have the possibility to interact with people who share their interest and have some insight and knowledge about Asian American problems, an opportunity he wished he would’ve had in high school.

“APIA [Asian and Pacific Islander American] student[s] lack Asian American role models, Asian teachers,” said Victoria Pang ’13, who will be in charge of the project next semester.

An “identity program” might be a third phase of the project, provided that the organizers receive adequate training.

Besides the Financial Aid Talk and Diversity Panel, which was comprised of SAO, Deshi and Han members, the students ate lunch at Sharples, a highlight of the day for some of them; went on a tour of the campus; and participated in small, grade-by-grade sessions concerning the college application process.

High School Conversations is funded by a Swarthmore Foundation grant, probably for the last time.

The Swarthmore Foundation, created over 20 years ago, awards grants to students, faculty and staff active in the field of community service. The focus of its mission is “direct service that addresses the causes and/or consequences of poverty.” The endowments hail from a variety of sources, both from individuals and other foundations.  

The Lang Center of Civic and Social Responsibility, along with a campus committee, are the institutions in charge of the Foundation’s management.

The grants are to be “seed funds” for new initiatives. Because the High School Conversations program has been running for two years, the organizers are brainstorming ideas for new sources of funding, which will be necessary next year.

Layne reapplied for the grant this semester.

They are also seeking support from outside institutions, such as Project Pericles, an organization promoting social responsibility. Swarthmore was one of Project Pericles’s founding members. They are considering organizing a fundraiser modeled after the Village Education Project’s Food for Education event, which was highly successful.

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