November 8. 2006
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Page A3
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Great Expectations for Grant Youth
Rahel Yared is coordinator o f student programs and
diversity in the school o f business administration at
Portland State University.
continued
from Front
will provide unprecedented ac­
cessibility to the students.
“We want them to see suc­
cessful black leaders right here
in their backyard,” Jackson said.
"This sends a m essage to stu­
dents that there is acertain value
1 have when a professor com es
to me.”
Students can spend the morn-
ing choosing from a num ber of
workshops covering health is­
sues and parent and com m unity
engagem ent, followed by the
keynote address and catered
lunch with entertainm ent and
ending with an afternoon panel
discussion.
One participating panelist is
Rahel Yared, a coordinator o f
student program s and diversity
at Portland State University’s
School o f Business Adm inistra­
tion.
Yared has been instrumental
in this year’s conference and
has a history o f fostering diver-
sity since moving to Oregon
from Ethiopia when she was 12.
She can relate to students
today because o f her experi­
ence o f being a minority and
learning a new language while
attending Franklin and Grant high
schools.
“ How can you not feel the
pressure?" she said.
Yared studied business at
PSU, but found very littlediver-
sity in her classroom s and the
retail industry. She assem bled a
career panel to expose PSU
students to different cultures
within the university.
A fter graduating in 2005,
Yared started working in the
college's diversity program, con­
necting minority college students
with opportunities in the retail
and food industries. The pro­
gram has direct ties with REAP
because it also prepares m inor­
ity highschool students forthese
careers.
“ W e’d like to get PSU stu ­
d e n ts fro m d iv e rs e b a c k -
Nural Willis III (from left) and Jibri Willis, both juniors at Grant High School, meet with African American Studies
teacher Mark Jackson and Portland State University student programs and diversity coordinator Rahel Yared.
PHOTOS BV
We want them to see
successful black leaders
right here in their backyard.
M ark W a . sh -
ington /T he
P ortland
O bserver
Mark Jackson,
program direc­
tor for REAP,
Inc. (Reaching
and Empower
All People)
teaches black
studies at Grant
High School in
northeast
Portland.
- Mark Jackson, program director for REAP
grounds, but how do we show
them the path if we d o n ’t reach
them in high school?” Yared
said.
T hursday’s conference will
take place on a teacher planning
day, so no school will be in
session. Last year's event drew
200 students. Jackson's main
goal this year is to raise expec­
tations. He plans toengage more
parents with a workshop under­
scoring their role in student sup­
port.
For more information about
the event, contact Jackson at
5 0 3 -3 4 1 -6 1 6 1
or
em ail
reapinc@ m sn.com .
If only happens twice a year, so hurry in
and save big on a terrific selection of shoes,
clothing and accessories, including items
purchased especially for this event.
Starts Wednesday, November 8
at 8:00 a.m.
W O M E N + K ID S
Earn Twice the Rewards points on all
Nordstrom credit card or Nordstrom M O D “
card purchases made at Nordstrom the first
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