College Signing Day

This semester, I have had the privilege of interning with the counselor at a local charter school, Cameron College Prep. It is a LEAD Charter School, which is a type of charter school founded in Nashville that puts a special emphasis on attending college. It has been exciting, over the past few months, to see how enthusiastic these 5th, 6th, and 7th graders are about attending college. This experience, in countless different ways, has reminded me why I want to spend my career in education.

Yesterday, a very special and encouraging event took place. It was college signing day. The first LEAD Charter School is graduating their first ever senior class. Each and every one of them was accepted and will be attending college this fall. This is extremely exciting, especially when you consider the backgrounds and obstacles these students have overcome.

In order to commemorate this occasion, there was a big "Signing Day" ceremony where all the students from all five LEAD schools gathered to watch the 44 seniors announce where they would be attending, as well as sign a paper promising to do everything in their power to graduate from college. And who was the keynote speaker to give advice and congratulate these students? President Bill Clinton.

I have my differences with some of former President Clinton's choices, but I do appreciate his dedication to education both during his presidency and afterwards. He continues to pursue ways to better the education system and improve opportunities for students all across America. He provided the students with a lot of good advice, but the phrase that stuck with me was, "Keep learning, keep growing, keep giving." And that is wonderful advice, President Clinton.

It was an amazing day and I loved the excitement and energy in the room. It was moving to think about where my precious students will be in 5, 6 to 7 years…and hoping that they will be preparing for college.

I was honored to take part in this thrilling celebration.

xoxo