The Campaign for Chicago's Scholars Breakfast Symposium


October 27, 2010

The Campaign for Chicago's Scholars Breakfast Symposium fostered a cross-institutional dialogue between administrators, admissions representatives of nationally ranked colleges and universities, community-based organizations, and high school counselors about college persistence and graduation rates for first-generation college students. Professionals involved in every step of the college admissions process engaged in the discussion. The topics included:

  • Academic Rigor
  • Campus Visit Fly-In Programs (Diversity Days)
  • Multicultural Student Affairs Initiatives
  • Technology and Access to College
  • Test Optional Colleges

The symposium developed solutions to address challenges faced by first-generation college students. Below are videos and photos of the participants over the course of the Breakfast.

Before beginning the program, representatives from our community partners spoke about their organization's mission and their partnership with Chicago Scholars. These organizations include:

To begin the breakfast, Meseret Negash, our Executive Director of Programs and National Partnerships gave the opening remarks. Following her remarks, high school counselors were recognized and presented certificates for their successful completion of the Chicago Scholars CPS LAUNCH Professional Development program. Click here to see the full list of participants.


(From left to right Patrick Milton, Bernard McCune, Dana Fairchild, Yaneth Bello, Aleny Garcia, Hector Gonzalez, Joleen Fortier, Eileen Rudden, Tierra Moore, Barbara Karpouzian, Sarah Safron, Darci Keyser and Whitney Triplett.)

Following the recognition of the high school counselors, the Dean of Admissions at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Douglas Christiansen, gave the keynote address at the symposium. He shared with us Vanderbilt's proactive policies to reach and recruit underrepresented students.


After Dr. Christiansen's keynote address, Daniel Campbell (Class of 2011) spoke about the impact that Chicago Scholars has made on his life.

Following Daniel's address to the symposium attendees, a panel of five college admissions representatives discussed the above mentioned topics. These representatives were from the following institutions:

  • Colorado College - Carlos Jimene
  • Knox College - DeVone Eurales
  • George Washington University - Daniel Miller
  • University of Missouri - Alpachino Hogue
  • University or Pennsylvania - Teran Tadal
Immediately following, each panelist led a round table discussion with the symposium attendees. Here are the questions that were discussed:

  • Academic Rigor - What courses should students be taking to demonstrate academic rigor?
  • Campus Fly-In Programs (Diversity Days) - How do visits play into decision-making for low income students?
  • Multicultural Student Affairs Initiatives - How should we assist students in adjusting to the college experience?
  • Technology and Access - What is the future of technology in bringing college option to first generation, low income, and underserved youth? What do our students need to know about today's technology use in college?
  • Test Optional Colleges - Why do colleges offer test options and for what kind of student?
Following the round table discussions, Karen Foley, our President, brought the discussion to a close and Meseret Negash concluded the breakfast symposium.