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Wednesday, June 22, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
ASPIRE helps Sisters High School students find their path
By erin Borla
Correspondent
A new crop of Sisters
High School graduates has
set off into the future. And
they’ve had some help deter-
mining what their path into
that future might be.
All juniors and seniors at
Sisters High School (SHS)
receive an opportunity to
work with the ASPIRE
(Access to Student Assistance
Programs In Reach of
Everyone) program. The
program, managed by Rick
Kroytz, a half-time grant-
funded contractor, and two
volunteers — Diane Russell
and Phyllis Smith — has been
an extension of the Sisters
High School counseling
department for over 10 years.
ASPIRE is a mentor-
ing program that matches
trained and supportive adult
volunteers from the com-
munity with high school
students to develop a plan
to help them meet their edu-
cation goals beyond high
school. Volunteers are trained
through the program and help
students have a successful
transition into their preferred
field after graduation. The
entire ASPIRE program is
paid for through grants and
supported by community
volunteers.
Kroytz, Smith, and Russell
manage 37 volunteers with
varying backgrounds from
parents to professors —
including teachers, business
owners, lawyers, retired mili-
tary, computer-technology
professionals and college
administrators. Through the
2015-2016 school year, the
volunteers contributed well
over 1,000 hours to the stu-
dents of Sisters High School.
“ASPIRE takes the bur-
den off the parents to help
the students realize their per-
sonal potential,” said Kroytz.
“I love seeing how the kids
grow from when we start with
them in the fall, when they
may not necessarily have a
vision. We are a cheerleader
and a problem-solver for
them.”
I love seeing how the kids
grow from when we start
with them in the fall, when
they may not necessarily
have a vision. We are
a cheerleader and a
problem-solver for them.
— rick Kroytz
Students are supported
through a variety of post-
graduate options including
identifying and applying to
four-year universities, two-
year colleges, trade school or
military service. Many stu-
dents may not have any idea
what they would like to do
after high school while oth-
ers, like Junior Zidane Galant,
know exactly what they are
interested in studying.
“The ASPIRE program
helped me to figure out which
colleges fit me — in learning
style, location, or programs
offered,” said Galant. “I was
interested in the nursing field
before meeting with my men-
tor, and they showed me
schools that have programs
that would help me with this
goal.”
Engaging students in the
planning effort, volunteers
work alongside students and
guide them through preparing
resumes, exploring and iden-
tifying careers, researching
schools and making college
visits, practicing for and tak-
ing placement exams, select-
ing and applying for colleges,
identifying and planning for
college costs, and applying
for and winning scholarships
We’re Like Family
and financial aide.
“The ASPIRE program
helped me determine my post-
graduate plans by showing
me my options,” said senior
Dallas Knoop. “They showed
me how to find schools I
might want to attend, helped
me narrow down the list and
then showed me the process
of how to apply.”
“Both my son and daugh-
ter went through the ASPIRE
program,” said new volunteer
Kate O’Hern. “To us it was
amazing and a great relief that
the kids had one person who
stood beside them through
the whole process. The men-
tors were their (the kids) big-
gest fans. They always rooted
them on.”
Each year, every junior
or senior that wants the ser-
vices — this year about 85%
of those students or 80 juniors
and 90 seniors — have eight
hours working with a men-
tor. Mentors and students
are armed with a to-do list.
The list is broken down with
things to accomplish during
the students’ junior year, and
by trimester for their senior
year.
“We help the students
develop a plan of action,”
said volunteer Phyllis Smith.
The volunteer mentors
spend time building trust with
the students, and offer them a
different voice and presenta-
tion, someone other than a
teacher or parent.
“I chose to be a men-
tor because we are so very
grateful for the help our kids
got through ASPIRE,” said
O’Hern. “We truly believe
that our kids are in better col-
leges because of the program.
It also helped our two kids
navigate through ways to get
the most amount of scholar-
ships, which, for us, was a
huge blessing.”
In 2015, ASPIRE along
with Sisters GRO facilitated
$158,000 worth of scholar-
ships to Sisters High School
graduates.
In addition to the meet-
ings with students, Kroytz
and his mentors coordinated
events throughout the year
for students and their fami-
lies, including hosting 25
different college represen-
tatives at the high school.
Families and their students
participated in College
Planning Night in October;
Financial Aid Planning Night
in November; Scholarship
Application Pizza Night in
January; and the Oregon
Public Universities Tour in
April, where eight public uni-
versities from across the state
were available for students at
SHS.
“Without the ASPIRE
program I would have been
lost in planning for my
future,” said Knoop. “I would
not have known where to
begin or what steps to take
without their dedicated help.
The volunteers were patient,
kind and always followed up,
making sure I was tracking
along until the very end.
“I enjoyed working with
my ASPIRE mentor — it was
actually fun,” said Knoop.
“Planning for college is
beyond stressful, numerous
little things to do and get
down with deadlines racing
toward you from all direc-
tions. With ASPIRE breaking
things down, the weight was
lifted from my shoulders, and
everything just became so
manageable, even exciting.”
In the last year, ASPIRE
has added over 25 volunteers
to the program at SHS, and
they are always looking for
more. Community members
interested in volunteering
need to be approved by the
school district and willing to
commit for a full year of ser-
vice to the program.
“As of today, ASPIRE is
the only real in-school option
for our students to prepare
for and plan for a realistic
future,” said Kroytz. “This
program is the critical tipping
point for our students’ post-
graduation success.”
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