SOURCE: Enbridge
DESCRIPTION:
Houston youth gain a pathway to college through YES Prep school network
If you’re one of the 16,500 students attending a YES Prep school in Houston, the coming spring means affinity summits are around the corner.
You could say it leads to a “peak” in excitement.
“Aside from sporting events, these summits allow our students at all our different schools to come together and interact with one another,” says Leigh Levine, Director of Advancement at YES Prep.
Usually there are north of 600 students from Grades 6 through 12 attending the summits—all hailing from the YES Prep charter network that’s 23 schools strong in the Houston area.
At the summits, which are usually one-day events taking place over a string of weekends, students participate in discussions with mentors in their communities, learn about their cultural heritage, and develop skills to navigate the college environment.
“We have different school leaders that volunteer for the summits and flesh out a full program for the students,” says Levine. “It’s really an opportunity to participate in insightful conversations while connecting students with others that are facing similar situations—all in a safe space to engage and discuss.”
The summits began in 2015 with the Brotherhood and Sisterhood summits as inaugural events, which aim to serve African-American-identifying male and female students, respectively.
Today, YES Prep runs five affinity summits, with the roster now including the LatinX Leadership summit, the Pride Plus summit, and the Asian, Pacific Islander, American (APIA) summit.
KEYWORDS: NYSE:ENB, Enbridge, Student Affinity Summits, YES Prep school network
