41 High-Schoolers LEAP Into College Tour

The following writeup was submitted by Leadership, Education, Athletics in Partnership Inc. (LEAP) Communications Coordinator Nicole Jefferson, with excerpts from LEAP counselors, about a college tour of D.C. and Georgia recently led by the local youth services nonprofit.

In mid-April, the New Haven education nonprofit Leadership, Education and Athletics in Partnership (LEAP) took 41 of their high school students on a college tour to Washington D.C. and Georgia. All costs including transportation and lodging were free of charge for the students. 

Over the week-long trip, students visited nine colleges including six HBCUs: Howard University, Fort Valley State University, University of Georgia, Clark Atlanta University, Georgia State University, Clayton State University, Emory University, Morris Brown College, and Morehouse College. Two of the tours were led by LEAP senior counselors who currently attend Howard University and Clark Atlanta University.

For Wilbur Cross High School sophomore Nyree Lawson, the LEAP college tour was the first time she had visited a college campus. She said her favorite school on the tour was HBCU Morris Brown College: ​“You have Black excellence left and right. Being there was very empowering!” Though only a sophomore, Lawson has already been thinking about her college applications and major. Her work at LEAP mentoring children has informed her desire to be a nurse practitioner working with children. Before the college tour, she had not considered going to school outside of Connecticut.

LEAP junior counselor and Amistad High School junior Johnae echoed Lawson’s enthusiasm for Morris Brown College. She said, ​“I loved the overall environment there! I learned about how the films ​‘Stomp the Yard’ and ​‘Drumline’ were both filmed at the college. I want to create soundtracks for movies and I know that if I came here, they would help a lot with that.”

LEAP’s commitment to helping young people explore their passions is reflected in the diverse interests of the students we work with. Many LEAP counselors go on to be teachers, social workers, or psychologists. But we also have counselors who are interested in law, journalism, medicine, and more. Kaiden says that Fort Valley State University ​“offers the undergraduate law and journalism programs that [she’s] looking for.”

For many of the students on the tour, the fact that they visited so many HBCUs was personally impactful. Hillhouse High junior and LEAP junior counselor Tariq reflects on his experience touring Morehouse: 

“When we arrived at Morehouse, we were brought into this room where the introduction was being held. Right off the bat I felt welcomed. The people who were leading the introduction presented themselves as approachable and you could tell that they were authentic. They didn’t try to put on this facade as if they were better than us but treated us like their brothers. No other college that I went to made me feel like that. I also enjoyed learning about the historical aspect of Morehouse.

“Learning about how Martin Luther King Jr. wasn’t the best student but still managed to graduate from Morehouse and became someone great was very inspiring to me. Even the very room where the introduction was held was inspirational. On the walls of that room were multiple quotes from important men in history that went to Morehouse. Every freshman that goes into that room is asked to choose a quote from that wall that they want to remember going into their college career. Then when they’re about to graduate, they would go back into that room and reflect on their college experience based on the quote they chose. You can tell that when going to Morehouse, excellence is expected.”

Also on the college tour, students visited the Georgia Aquarium, the National Museum of African American History & Culture, and the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

Signing Day is coming up on May 1 in which students across the country will formally commit to their college or university. In the summer, LEAP will hold its annual scholarship awards ceremony which recognizes all of the graduating counselors and awards four scholarships to students. This year LEAP is adding a fifth award, the Annie Veale Memorial Scholarship to recognize a student who has excelled in athleticism while in high school. LEAP is grateful to be able to support students in their educational journeys and beyond.