March-2024 Cooperative Living-SVEC - SVEC21

attending the program's early college
seminars and career sessions. Th e scholars
also visit college campuses to gain
comfort in the environment, become
familiar with the available resources, and
meet with mentoring students from the
universities. To meet with these mentors,
Harrisonburg students frequent the
JMU campus, and Handley's scholars
connect with Shenandoah University,
but sometimes join Harrisonburg at
JMU as well.
Mario, a Handley junior, says SLI has
made the college search easier for him.
Not only did he get to know the diff erent
atmospheres and cultures of local
campuses, but he also narrowed down
what would be a good fi t and where he
wants to apply.
" It allowed me to get a feel for
what to expect in college, " Mario says.
" Honestly, I would be lost [without it]
because SLI has helped me visit diff erent
types of colleges and meetings related to
programs off ered. "
Mario, an SLI
scholar and
junior from
Handley
High School.
helping the local community. Planning
the visits themselves also promotes
networking for the students, leading
to professional connections that could
prove useful in their future endeavors for
internship and career opportunities.
Aſt er the visit, Emily Shickel,
VMRC's volunteer services manager,
says the residents were already gushing,
" 'Weren't they nice young people?' " She
says they will continue to talk about it
for days on end because of the impact the
students made.
" [Th e students] truly were a bright
spot in their day, " Shickel says.
BEST FOOT FORWARD
Alemán says about 25% of the
Harrisonburg SLI scholars graduate
high school having already earned
their associate degrees from Blue Ridge
Community College.
" We help students consider if they
can do that, " he says. " Not only in terms
of intellectually, because I think they
all can. But in terms of support from
home or whether they have a car to get to
campus. "
Harrisonburg's chapter is the largest
GIVING BACK
Four female scholars from
Harrisonburg's SLI chapter met on
a snowy day in January to volunteer
spending time at Virginia Mennonite
Retirement Community. Th ey drank
coff ee and chatted with seven residents
who have cognitive impairment, off ering
warmth through companionship on an
otherwise-frigid day.
Although community service is
a requirement for SLI scholars, they
choose, plan and coordinate the activities
and hours themselves. Angely, a junior at
HHS, facilitated the visit with VMRC
and was diligent enough to keep the
appointment, despite school closures and
inches of snow on the ground.
Learning leadership and advocacy
skills through service is a byproduct of
svec.coop
March 2024 * Cooperative Living * 19
of the three, typically taking about 10
new students per year. Clymer Kurtz says
the Harrisonburg and Handley chapters'
students have typically been in the U.S.
longer and are more likely to take those
advanced classes. For some Richmond
SLI students, learning English is a
primary task.
Once they arrive to the U.S., the
students work incredibly hard and
are appreciative of the opportunities
Angely, Rozana, Ashley and Amy smile
with residents at their VMRC visit.
available here. " Th ey're doing it for their
families, " Clymer Kurtz says.
" So oſt en, if their families [have]
recently arrived, their parents have
come for them, against great odds, from
desperate situations. "
Financial support is the biggest
need for the program, which is run by
volunteers and funded by donations.
In 2023, SLI was awarded a grant from
SVEC's Operation Round Up program.
As it grows, SLI off ers more scholarships
to its members, but budgeting still limits
the number of students it can accept.
Today, each senior who completes the
program is awarded $6,000 to use toward
tuition and $1,250 to purchase a laptop.
A new, recurring scholarship
opportunity is now off ered for SLI's
past members to get them through
college. Th ey are eligible to apply for that
scholarship aſt er each completed year of
college to continue earning their degree.
Success looks diff erent for each
student, but there's no doubt SLI has had
an impact. Last year, a Handley scholar
was admitted to Harvard University with
a full scholarship.
" Th e greatest success for a SLI scholar
to achieve is the attainment of their
personal academic and career goals, "
Maquera says.
Clymer Kurtz says: " I think the
success really is empowering the students
to believe that it's an option and that
they're worth it. And then give them the
tools to actually do it. "
To learn more about SLI and hear
scholar testimonials, visit vasli.org. *
http://www.vasli.org http://www.svec.coop
March-2024 Cooperative Living-SVEC

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