Return to Bowie HS and Austin CAN! Academy

Over the past couple of weeks, we've tabled at Bowie HS and at an all-day career fair at the Austin CAN! Academy. Our table at Bowie was a return visit after we, with the help of AISD's school district attorney, were able to assure the Principal that we have been tabling in the high schools for over a decade now and that we're legit! See this earlier blog post for a recap of our truncated visit to Bowie in February. It was good to be back at the school and all went well.

Today, the career fair at the Austin CAN! Academy also went well. We were busy! Lots of students came by for literature and to check out the Peace Wheel. The school staffpersons were very welcoming, as they were when we participated in their fair last year. And the students were great -- very amiable.

One of the organizers of the career day was an Americorps member who is doing her service as part of the "Collegiate G-Force" initiative of the TX Higher Ed. Coordinating Board which places Americorps members in schools to help students navigate the college application and financial aid process. She also is an ACC student herself.

We have noticed many Americorps members who do their service in the high schools -- such as the College Forward coaches mentioned in the previous post and Communities In Schools workers. It's inspiring to meet these motivated young people who are helping students just a little younger than they figure out how they can go to college. I have to say, I wish the other arms of the federal government did as well by our students. That is, if military spending was cut and wars ended, college grants could go way up and college costs could go down. And the world would be much greener, too.