While many young people went on a vacation or spent time relaxing at home over spring break, forty-three high school students boarded a bus to visit multiple colleges across the state of Tennessee. Within this group were youth from MAM and Refugee Empowerment Program (REP).
MAM youth outside of the Tennessee Capitol Building in Nashville, TN.
The first stop was Jackson, where youth visited Lane College and Union University, and then they traveled to middle Tennessee where they toured Tennessee State University, Austin Peay State University, and Middle Tennessee State University. While in Nashville, the group also visited the Tennessee State Capitol and enjoyed free time at the Opry Mills Mall. The final stop was at UT-Martin.
Kenyatta Morris, director of MAM’s Amplify Mentor Program (AMP), coordinated the trip with the goal to expose these students to some of the great colleges within our state. After two unsuccessful attempts at the trip due to the pandemic, Kenyatta was overjoyed to finally take a large group of eager students. She loved seeing the kids’ faces light up as they stepped off the bus onto a new college campus.
The group of students attended six colleges across the state, including Austin Peay State University.
By attending this trip, youth were able to get a small glimpse at what college life actually looks like while also learning specific college requirements such as minimum ACT score and GPA. Youth at MAM expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to visit different colleges. Some said they wanted to look further into a few of the schools while others even said they plan to attend one of the schools they visited. This trip was made possible by Kingdom Church, and sponsors of AMP – First Horizon Foundation, Bank of America, AutoZone, and American Snuff.
