Advising Corps encourages pursuit of higher education
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on March 8, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
College adviser Antoinette Jones, left, helps students fill out college applications last week during lunch at Southern Wayne High School. Colleges set up tables in the hallway outside of the cafeteria so that students can easily access information and ask questions.
DUDLEY -- The college experience has come to Southern Wayne High School.
Since she arrived in the fall, Antoinette Jones, N.C. State College Adviser, has made it her mission to motivate students to prepare to go to college.
She is part of an N.C. State University program called College Advising Corps. The program aims to increase the number of first-generation college-going students, typically from low income and/or under-represented students, to apply, enter and complete college, she said.
The program was formed in February 2014 as a partnership with the John M. Belk Endowment to enhance efforts at NCSU. The university has the highest concentration of rural students in the nation.
In its first year, nine recent graduates of N.C. State were assigned to nine rural high schools to work with students who may not have previously seen college as a possibility.
This year, it expanded to 21 advisers in 21 schools. Adjacent Duplin County has four schools on the list. Wayne County's sole site is Southern Wayne.
It is an atmosphere Ms. Jones can relate to, having herself come from a small community. She graduated from Jones Senior High in Jones County in 2011, then from NCSU in 2015 with a degree in political science.
"I advise because I am my students," she said during a recent presentation before the school board. "I understand the process is very challenging for our students."
Part of her role, she said, is help create a "college-going culture," working with students on time management, decision-making, as well as financial aid.
She also strives to match students with the best fit for them when they go to college.
"We bring representatives in to engage with our students -- do on-site admissions, tell them about their program," she said. "We also do workshops and educate students and parents, work with guidance (counselors) and provide information and scholarships."
The goal is to have at least 50 percent of the senior class apply for college.
"Students have applied to three or more colleges or at least one," she said.
Financial aid is another critical piece. Ms. Jones said she has been working to educate students on the scholarships, grants and loans that are out there, encouraging them to submit all the financial aid forms.
"A huge challenge that our students face is how they're going to pay for college," she said.
Since her arrival at the school, she has tried to combat some of the obstacles. She said she started out the year in September with a "College Pledge Day," with students encouraged to commit to work toward higher education.
She also spends time educating them -- on resumes, how to dress for success and readying for the SAT/ACT tests that will contribute to their being accepted by a college.
"How do you respond to students who have no desire to do college but are interested in vocational (training)?" asked school board member Arnold Flowers.
"We will have students from Wayne Community College come in and speak to them, any type of post-secondary education," Ms. Jones said. "We want them to own up to their own education or own up to their own decisions but still want to talk to them about the options."
Board member Patricia Burden asked how Southern Wayne was chosen as an advising site.
"Our primary mission is to increase the workforce of rural North Carolina," said Patti Baynes, program director and Ms. Jones' supervisor. "We sought out rural schools that fit within our radius of contact."
Funded by Belk Endowment, the program comes at no cost to the district or the school, she said.
At the outset, contact was made with the WCPS superintendent, where the partnership was forged to introduce the advising program at the local high school, Ms. Baynes said.
As the school year wraps up, Ms. Jones is continuing her efforts to help students.
She recently held a Spanish night for Hispanic students and their parents and is still working to push the application process for those who have not completed their paperwork.
It will all culminate on "Decision Day," a national day held in May for students to commit and celebrate. At Southern Wayne, that event will take place May 5, she said.