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Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) and NEWaukee are excited to announce the Great Lakes Gap Year Experience for the City of Milwaukee. The pilot program, coming in 2021, will target a diverse group of students who are undecided about attending college and provide an alternative educational experience.
Participating students will be led through a curated program that will include MATC hands-on career exploration, career exposure at local companies, network development with peers and civic engagement around the issues of diversity, equity and inclusion to address the region’s equity gap. Additionally, participating students will have opportunities for scholarships and employment at local companies to ensure accessibility and affordability.
MATC and NEWaukee are seeking input from interested parents, students, and businesses to help design the program and ensure it meets the needs of the community. If you are interested, virtual design sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, October 13, 2020 from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. and Thursday, October 15, 2020 from noon to 1:00 p.m. Register at bit.ly/MATCGapYear.
In addition to exposure to different career paths, students who complete the program will also come away with MATC credits that they can apply to continue their education and wraparound support from the college.
“We know many students may be considering other options to a traditional college experience as student debt continues to grow and COVID-19 affects so many aspects of our lives. The Great Lakes Gap Year Experience offers an important option to the college-to-career path,” MATC President Vicki J. Martin said. “We are designing the program so students could earn college credits they can use toward a degree at MATC, a four-year university — or both, thanks to our transfer agreements. In this experience, participants will be able to examine some of our region’s most pressing issues, while building a clear and confident career launch plan.”
According to the American Gap Year Association, interest in taking a gap year has more than doubled in the past decade. Research shows the COVID-19 pandemic could further accelerate this trend.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Google searches related to taking a gap year are up as much as 60% year-over-year. A recent study by the University of Southern California highlights that COVID-19 may disproportionately impact the ability for students of color to stay enrolled full-time or complete their degree on schedule.
The Great Lakes Gap Year Experience aims to address these trends, creating a new pipeline of diverse talent for the state of Wisconsin, area companies and universities.
“Nationally, taking a gap year is a luxury often afforded only to individuals from affluent families,” explains Angela Damiani, CEO and co-founder of NEWaukee. “We are working with MATC and the community to design this program in a way that provides access to students of all socioeconomic and racial backgrounds.”
MATC and NEWaukee are looking for other business and university partners to get involved in the Great Lakes Gap Year Experience. Interested? Contact Jeremy Fojut, Co-Founder and Chief Idea Officer of NEWaukee, at jeremy@newaukee.com.
I am not certain how this fits into MATC’s historic role, but there is a great need in our society for an institution that fills the gaps between the skills of our high school graduates and the expectations of colleges and businesses. According to the United Negro College Fund:
Sixty-one percent of Black students who took the ACT in the 2015 high school graduating class met none of the four ACT college readiness benchmarks, nearly twice the 31% rate for all students. Low test scores make the rest of the college application process more difficult. Getting accepted to a school, earning scholarships and succeeding in later studies becomes more of a challenge.
[“African Americans and College Education by the Numbers” by Brian Bridges, Ph.D., uncf.org]
The money and support is there for those who are prepared, but don’t expect colleges or businesses to excel in remedial education. That’s not what they are designed to do.