Give Back’s “Why We Strive” fall programming centers around personal budgeting. The programming was developed to highlights a core competency, sub-competency, and personal learning objective of economic stability, financial literacy, and personal budgeting, respectively.
Bitten by the ice of the alpine winds, their feet sloshed through the puddled volcanic gravel in the dead of night. The fiery roar of Volcan de Fuego sounded off in the distance.
A Give Back scholar and junior at Lewis, Gracie juggles a busy schedule as a double major in History and Theology, and a Donnelly Grant Intern working on preserving Joliet-era history in the university’s Adelmann Regional History Collection. Through her studies, Gracie intends to pursue a PhD in History, with a concentration in the British or Latin Empire, to ultimately teach at the collegiate level.
Organized by Kansas Program Director Katie Latta and Illinois Student Coach Shannon Labus, the summer excursion exposed a small group of Give Back Careers students, ranging from incoming freshmen to juniors in high school throughout Kansas, to life in higher education while giving them the chance to learn more about the various opportunities at their fingertips.
Amidst the chaos of finals, an ongoing global pandemic, and preparing for the new school year, relaxing your mind and recharging your batteries is not always a walk in the park. But prioritizing your mental health and making time for the things you enjoy most is essential for your overall success and wellbeing.
As illustrated in the poetry of one of the most prolific and revered rappers of all time, no matter where you come from and what you have experienced, you can and will still blossom. Even engulfed in concrete–in an environment where almost everything might be holding you back and telling you otherwise–remember that you are beautiful, you are strong, and you can rise above to flourish and reach your dreams.
Earlier this summer, Alexandria Wilson traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to attend a two-week intensive academic, community, and field experience where students from across the country learned about issues pertaining to social justice and inequity, particularly for people living in poverty and on the margins.
With similar missions and commitments to making college education more attainable, the partnership between Blackburn and Give Back is an excellent fit.