ASU, federal program helps students get to college

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - The Educational Talent Search, or ETS program at Albany State University, is a federally funded TRIO program that aims to help low-income middle and high school students get to college.

They do this through tutoring, career exploration, practice for the SAT and ACTs, as well as coordinating college tours.

“We had 64 of our seniors to graduate last year. And out of the 64, so far, we had about 42 to be accepted into college,” Albany State ETS Director Kallie Evans said. “But we’re almost at 100%, and that is my goal to have all of our seniors graduate in time from high school and then go on to college.”

Students within the organization tell WALB that this program has helped to boost their confidence tremendously.

WALB is also told that for some of the students, they will be the first in their families to go to college.

“The colleges I’m looking into are Tuskegee and FAMU. Colleges that have good engineering programs, so that I can become an aerospace engineer or any type of engineer,” Jurdyn Johnson, an incoming high school junior, said.

“It just gives us a different push,” Daniel Ausby, an ETS participant, said. “Cause they’re doing tutoring and homework help end things like that. So really just- the average student doesn’t get that from everybody. So, I think that’s just something that’s a difference between other students and what I’m doing right now.”

Some noteworthy leaders in Georgia are also alumni of the organization from other HBCUs.

“Senator Raphael Warnock,” Georgia TRIO President Juawan Jackson said. “The first African American senator in the state of Georgia from Savannah State University. That’s where he participated in TRIO programs. But as we see now, he made it from as he would say, the projects down in Savannah, all the way up to the U.S. Congress.”

The ETS, TRIO program will be hosting a summer camp that starts July 17.

If you are interested in signing up your child for the program, click here.

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