News

High school students have the opportunity to meet, hear and learn from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville faculty, staff and students during a newly created virtual High School Speaker Series, focusing on academic majors and career pathways. 

SIUE’s CORE T.E.A.M. (College Readiness: Transition, Engage, Achieve and Mentor) Department is presenting its second week of the series from 3:30-4:30 p.m. today-Friday, Nov. 13, according to Fannie Acoff, program coordinator and speaker series creator. 

The speakers consist of SIUE faculty and staff sharing academic advice and information to current and prospective students, according to Acoff. Additionally, SIUE students and alumni share their own personal experiences of college planning. Students learn tips on what they can do now to help them prepare for college and specific academic majors, as well as advice on what to do while in college to prepare for graduation and employment. 

Sessions this week are as follows:

• Topic: Education major
  Presenter: Ayris Bonds, senior
  3:30-4:30 p.m.
  Today, Nov. 9 

• Topic: Nursing major
  Presenter: Tyla Wells, senior
  3:30-4:30 p.m.
  Tuesday, Nov. 10 

• Topic: Electrical engineering major
  Presenter: Cameron Milon, May 2020 graduate
  3:30-4:30 p.m.
  Wednesday, Nov 11 

• Topic: Pharmacy major
  Presenter: Jazmine Rosales, PharmD
  3:30-4:30 p.m.
  Thursday, Nov. 12 

• Topic: Biochemistry and sociology majors
  Presenter: Jochabay McGeeBey, senior
  3:30-4:30 p.m.
  Friday, Nov. 13 

The speaker series began Monday, Nov. 2 and will end Monday, Nov. 30. All sessions are available via Zoom. The meeting ID is 966 1187 5694 and the password is 224982. For questions or the full schedule, contact Acoff at facoff@siue.edu or 618-650-3780. You can also follow siuecoreteam on Facebook and Instagram. 

“Because of COVID-19, we were unable to bring students to campus for traditional pre-collegiate activities,” said Acoff. “We needed new ways to provide programming to our pre-collegiate students at SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School and Collinsville High School. Therefore, the speaker series was created. 

“With this being a virtual event, Makesha Harris Lee, EdD, CORE T.E.A.M. director, decided it would be great to extend an open invitation to all interested high school students.” 

The SIUE CORE T.E.A.M. Department includes the SIUE Pre-Collegiate Program and the Summer Success Program. The Pre-Collegiate Program is a college preparatory program designed to assist high school students (grades 9-12) in their transition to post-secondary education upon high school graduation. The program offers engaging presentations and workshops on a variety of topics such as college financial planning, career and personality assessment, time-management, self-care, networking, test preparation and more. The Summer Success Program is a five-week program allowing students to take up to two college courses for free. While the Summer Success Program’s focus is academic, it involves a full range of social, cultural and recreational activities. 

Photo:
(L-R) Fannie Acoff, CORE T.E.A.M. (College Readiness: Transition, Engage, Achieve and Mentor) program coordinator, and Makesha Harris Lee, EdD, CORE T.E.A.M. director.