History:
Anna Santana, SJSU alumni, personally took on the role of gathering a group of 3rd graders in her graduating year of 2015-16. Within the span of two years she was able to provide them with a tour of SJSU. She founded College Awareness Network in 2015 which served 3rd graders to experience a college campus in an interactive way. She personally gathered approximately 600 students to go on campus and provided the tour by herself.
Why was C.A.N. created?
Anna Santana said, "As the daughter of immigrant parents who only obtained a third-grade education, college was an unknown subject until I reached middle school. In the 8th grade, I got the opportunity to go on a field trip to San Jose State University. Immediately, I fell in love with the campus, and it was there that I started to plan and dream about college... A simple field trip to a college campus inspired me when I was young, and as an undergraduate student, I wanted to also inspire children to start thinking about college. I decided to develop and implement C.A.N., a pilot project focused on establishing a college-bound culture is exemplified by inviting elementary schools for an intensive campus tour. During the tour, students get the chance to visit classrooms where they interact with the college students, participate, and ask questions."
C.A.N.'s Goals:
The development of a campus touring program for 3rd-8th graders from marginalized schools to be institutionalized at SJSU.
That the touring program be fully funded by SJSU.
That SJSU hosts one interactive tour (at SJSU) and three workshops (at the school site) every semester for now.
Importance:
There are many programs, including ones at SJSU, that focus on college-going culture in high school and we believe that this may be too late. We want to promote a college-going culture earlier in order to inspire students to stay motivated and prepare them as soon as possible. This is because students who learn about college requirements in there junior or senior year of college are also already applying to college by that time and may not be able to make the changes necessary to attend the colleges that they would like or feel prepared. For example, a junior in college may learn that their overall high school GPA and length of volunteering or extracurriculars are important but by their junior year this may be too late. Additionally, some students are not aware of all of their college options, what majors are available to them, or what their financial situation may look like. College Awareness Network wants to be able to help by hosting workshops and tours which will provide the students with information and resources needed in a fun and interactive way.