The mission of Inspire at UGA is to promote the personal and professional success of Athens-Clarke County students through initiatives that encourage higher education. We at Inspire seek to do two things: support students and encourage their graduation from high school and lead students on pathways towards higher education. 

 

Although Athens-Clarke County is home to the University of Georgia, one of the oldest public higher education institutions in the nation, many local Athens students are not afforded the privilege of pursuing a college degree. Students in underprivileged families are up to six times more likely to drop out of high school than those with greater financial opportunities. Many UGA students are unaware that in their backyard, the Athens-Clarke County area has a 50% poverty rate with the 5th highest rate in the nation. Unfortunately this means that local students are often unable to complete high school, let alone attend and complete high education opportunities. 

 

This is where we come in. We interact with local Athens eighth graders from Hillman, Clarke, Coile, and Burney Harris-Lyons Middle Schools. They are paired with a college student mentor and spend time hearing their stories, their advice, and their encouragement. We know that every individual’s experiences are different and want to hear what each student feels is standing in their way of their intellectual success. From here we take steps to break down these “barriers” with activities that share learning skills that helped us succeed in high school and beyond and strategies to overcome any obstacles that our mentees may face along the way. This is all tied up on our event day, Day as a Dawg.

 

Day as a Dawg takes place annually on G-Day, typically the third Saturday of April. The whole day is dedicated to our eighth graders, and we plan on starting and ending the day with a bang. Breakfast, activities, lunch, a tour of the campus ins and outs, information sessions, guest speakers and many more activities all lead up to the G-Day (UGA offense v. UGA defense) game. All day spent with mentees and mentors allows for bonding and the establishment of pride, both of themselves and of their Athen’s and UGA community.  Food, t-shirts, and tickets to the G-Day game are included for all eighth graders! 

 

Above all we seek to encourage and empower the students, making it known that no matter what path they seek to embark upon, they are beyond capable and their UGA mentors are always here to help and advise along the way. 

 

This is how we at Inspire are  “Empowering the youth of Athens-Clarke County one eighth grader at a time!”