FULLERTON : Mobile Recruiters Seek Out Students

Who says that all of academia is stuck in an ivory tower?

Under the new Talent Search program, prospects for higher education are just down the street.

College and university recruiters are taking part in an effort to lure “at-risk” youth and underrepresented students by way of a van that will travel to neighborhood community centers. The program is based at Cal State Fullerton.

Counselors will be on hand in the van to advise students and parents on the benefits of higher education, even if poor grades, language barriers and financial constraints make it seem impossible. In addition, tutoring programs will be set up to improve the students’ grades before they begin to apply to schools and take entrance exams.

“These kids need a lot of motivation, so we will sell them on the idea that they can go to college,” said Lilia S. Powell, the coordinator of the Talent Search program in Orange County.

“You do have the short term, putting food on the table,” she said. “I know it is necessary to look at tomorrow. But it is also necessary to look at 2005.”

The program, funded by a $188,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education, also includes Cal State Long Beach, UC Irvine and the North Orange County, Coast and Rancho Santiago community college districts. Representatives from all the schools will attend a kickoff breakfast on Dec. 16 at the Marriott in Fullerton.

Powell and two outreach counselors plan to target school districts in Anaheim, Garden Grove, La Habra, Fullerton and Orange. Regular visits are planned to the Indepedencia, George Washington and Jeffrey-Lynne community centers in Anaheim, the El Modena and Friendly community centers in Orange, the Gary Center in La Habra and the Neighborhood Service, Corbin and Southwest community centers in Santa Ana. The van also will visit the SER-Jobs for Progress Center in Santa Ana.

Powell said the van will make it easier to tailor the program to each neighborhood.

“We’re finding that every community center is different, and their needs are different,” she said. “Some have programs for youth at risk and some don’t.”

The colleges operated a similar van program in the late 1980s, but it was discontinued because of budget cuts, Powell said. Cal State Fullerton found out it was awarded the grant in August.

At the end of the first year, Powell hopes to have 800 high school and community college students in the program, with counselors and volunteers tracking their progress and providing tutoring and mentors. In addition, the program is aiming to help 250 junior high and middle school students.

“By the 11th grade, it is too late for many of our kids,” Powell said. “They have been failing some of their classes. We want to catch them as early as we can.