Earlier this week, a group of 45 high school students from Dorchester Academy spent the day touring and mingling with student scholars at Northeastern University. The high school seniors and juniors main objective was to learn about the college admissions process and the educational opportunity scholarships available through the Torch, Boston Public High School (BPHS), and Boston Housing Authority (BHA) Scholarship Programs at Northeastern.

Fourteen current Northeastern students who are scholars in the Torch, BPHS, and BHA Scholarship Programs served as mentors for the Dorchester Academy students, guiding them throughout the day and sharing their personal stories of achievement and motivation for college. The Northeastern mentors included 2 graduates of Dorchester Academy, formerly Noonan Business Academy, who are now in their second and third years at Northeastern.

Michael Toney, a junior at NU and Torch Scholar, stressed the importance of making time for outreach to students from Boston. “I come from their neighborhoods and it’s my job to make time to mentor and just talk with the students so they can see that it’s possible to do college.”

Guest Speaker Dr. Richard O’Bryant, Director of Northeastern’s John D. O’Bryant African American Institute, encouraged the high school students to pursue a higher education by sharing his own experience as a high school student in Boston who chose higher education. Dr. O’Bryant invited the students to use the Institute’s resources and to connect with a college culture on campus.

Northeastern student panelists, many of whom are graduates of Boston Public Schools, also spoke about first-generation college experiences - through their senior year of high school and into college. The panelists also discussed the Torch Scholars Program from the student’s perspective in order to provide insight to the value and mission of the Torch Scholars Program.

Kati Mojica-Martinez, a sophomore at NU and Torch Scholar, mentored students throughout the day and sat on the college motivation panel as a 2008 graduate of Dorchester Academy. Kati was joined by Shannell Parris, a 2007 graduate of Dorchester Academy and BPHS Scholar.

The Dorchester Academy students also learned about Northeastern University through a campus tour led by our Admissions and Visitor Center representatives.

Torch Program Director Jana McCarthy accompanied the students throughout the throughout the day. “I enjoyed watching our scholars connect with Boston high school students during lunch at International Village and also throughout the day on the tour and during the panel discussion. It is so important to see our college students reach out to Boston public high school students by sharing their own personal experience of college access. Our college students play an important role in motivating young people towards higher education, and that kind of outreach is crucial in our high schools.”