“College Bound is a great extracurricular, but it’s also a commitment for our students.our goal is to make our students as comfortable and confident as they can be, as they matriculate to college and go on campuses.”

WyKeshia Atkins

Today’s guests are College Bound’s WyKeshia Atkins, Director of Strategic Partnerships, and Kynidi Miller, Recruitment Coordinator. WyKeshia and Kynidi sat down with Staci to discuss the expansive services offered by College Bound, instilling confidence in students heading into college, and the impact of community throughout the process.

• Kynidi’s K-12 education
  • Kynidi went to a Catholic daycare and Kindergarten, then went to A.M. Jackson Math and Science Academy until 6th grade.
  • She moved to the suburbs after that and attended Whiteside Middle School, which was a culture shock.
  • She graduated high school from Belleville East Township.
    
• WyKeshia’s K-12 education
  • WyKeshia is from Charleston, Missouri.
  • She went to Warren E. Hearnes Elementary School, went to two different middle schools, then graduated from Charleston High School.
    
• What is College Bound?
  • College bound is a college access and preparatory program for students dedicated to getting them to and through college. 
  • They emphasize support of the first generation, demonstrated need students.
  • They start working with students their sophomore year of high school, and keep working with them until they have a degree in hand, ready to enter their careers.
    
• What inspired you to do this work?
  • WyKeshia was the Director of Learning Assistance Program at Southeast Missouri State, where she learned about College Bound.
  • “Learning about college bound, learning about the mission and vision—myself, being a first generation, demonstrated needs student as well—I understood the importance of these [College Bound] resources, and it just made me compelled to take my involvement with college further.”
    
• You’re saying first generation demonstrated needs – What does that mean?
  • First generation means that my parents don’t have a bachelor’s degree and demonstrated need means that I’m low income.
  • College Bound typically looks for a student to have at least one of those indicators with the first generation college student, their parents not knowing the college landscape.
  • Then for those demonstrated need students, we help our students with applying for scholarships so we can provide those needs for them as well.
    
• What is something unexpected that you’ve encountered in this work?
  • Kynidi didn’t expect the amount of students who are not aware of the resources that are at their hands, in the area in Saint Louis. 
  • She also didn’t expect the many high schools in the St. Louis area, getting to know them personally, and realizing that this was probably the first conversation about college they had.
    
• Can you talk at all about the importance of starting early, especially within our city, as the students prepare for that transition to college?
  • They started working with students their sophomore year of high school. But during their freshman year is when we’re doing our recruitment, they’re submitting their applications and doing their College Bound interviews.
  • They’re wondering if Freshman year is early enough to start talking with them with the stakes being high considering grades, college prep classes, etc.
  • “So really having those conversations with them early, talking about the importance of GPA, talking about the importance of taking challenging courses, also talking about just putting their best foot forward. A lot of colleges and universities look for academically around a student. So not only a student with a high GPA, but a student is involved in extracurriculars.” 
  • “College bound is a great extracurricular, but it’s also a commitment for our students.our goal is to make our students as comfortable and confident as they can be, as they matriculate to college and go on campuses.
    
• How do I connect with College Bound if I’m a student or parent?
  • They currently have students that represent 51 schools in St. Louis
  • Their recruitment team is very robust, doing in-class presentations, doing application workshops. Whatever they can do to bring college bound information to students
  • They work with the parents during the process as well, although it’s the students’ time to shine first and foremost.
    
• What services does College Bound provide?
  • Tutoring services, stabilization needs, ACT preparation, personal skills, academic skills, etc.
  • “We try to have a delicate balance between instilling the advocacy within our students, not coddling them, treating them like independent adults and giving them the college playing field as a high school student.” 
  • Giving them more experience and exposure increases their confidence so they can navigate everything appropriately.
    
• What do you think is the greatest challenge that some of these students are facing coming out of high school in Saint Louis, particularly inner city Saint Louis, and, and going off to college?
  • Schools have different amounts and types of resources, so that’s where they try to identify which school needs us the most.
  • Some kids know what they want to do in college already, some haven’t been exposed to college at all, so really just adapting to their needs and working to instill confidence.
  • Some kids need stabilization services first.
    
• What are some of the benefits that students can get from just being connected to a program like College Bound?
  • The students are able to build camaraderie with one another as they go through the cohort together.
  • Being in 51 schools, the students have the opportunity to interact with other students they might normally get the chance to.
  • They also take them on college trips to give them as much context as possible.
    
• Where can we find College Bound?
  • Headquarters is located on 110 North Jefferson Avenue
  • https://www.collegeboundstl.org/
  • Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/collegeboundstl/ 
  • Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/collegeboundstl