UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — If, as it is often said, everybody has a story, then the people profoundly devoted to Penn State’s Summer College Opportunity Program in Education (S.C.O.P.E.) are the ones who enjoy first discovering and ultimately helping students turn their stories into ones with happy endings.
Those key people aren’t just the program’s organizers within the College of Education’s Office of Multicultural Programs — Maria Schmidt, Gary Abdullah and Brenda Martinez — they include donors, instructors, tutors and counselors. Each of them shares the common goals of informing high school students about what to expect in college, being there for them if and when they enroll and, in many instances, keeping in touch long after they leave.
S.C.O.P.E. is a four-week summer academic program primarily for rising high school juniors from multicultural backgrounds who are interested in the field of education. They take college courses, write a research paper, prepare for SATs and learn study and time-management skills. They also learn teamwork by navigating ropes courses, such as the one shown on the previous page.
But it’s a daily emotional investment for those who first meet them as teenagers who may not have initially considered college and, if they choose to attend Penn State, lend plenty of hands in helping to shape them into confident, young adults who leave the University with not only degrees but also high hopes and dynamic plans.
“It would be hard to not get invested emotionally,’’ said Abdullah, a multicultural programs coordinator. “I feel in order to be effective in this role and roles we have in this office, you have to be emotionally invested. It has to be more than just work. It has to be belief in what you’re doing; you believe in these individuals in order for them to feel it.
“That’s why the program can be tiring,’’ he said. “Aside from the fact we have high-schoolers up here for four weeks and have to make sure they stay in line, it is the amount of emotional investment you put into it that can really be tiring. It’s 112 percent worth it.’’
Program support
The program, despite its success and tangible results for students, wouldn’t be what it is without philanthropy. S.C.O.P.E. is supported financially by three methods: donors, an allocation of funds from the College of Education, and the Office of Educational Equity.
Boston resident John Gilmartin, who for years has been a major contributor to Penn State and the College of Education — in particular the S.C.O.P.E. program — takes pleasure in keeping abreast of the success stories.
“I think it’s important we be creative in building bridges that kids who come from the inner city can walk on to find their way to the type of rich educational experience that is offered by Penn State,’’ Gilmartin said. “I think S.C.O.P.E. is one of those creative bridges that early on in their high school career a student has the possibility to open their minds to the chance to go on to higher education."
Maria Schmidt, assistant dean for multicultural programs, said Gilmartin has been a permanent, long-term supporter of the program from the very first summer in 2002.
Gilmartin also supports current undergraduate students through the John Gilmartin Trustee Scholarship. This funding has supported S.C.O.P.E. alumni, including Jevon Corpening, a 2013 participant and now a junior studying Spanish education.
“This man I’ve never met before has had such an impact on my academic journey; I’d really like to meet him, actually,’’ Corpening said.
Kaela Fuentes currently serves on the College of Education’s Alumni Society Board. She participated in S.C.O.P.E. in 2004, just two years after its inception, and after enrolling at Penn State was one of the first to navigate the College of Education’s Integrated Undergraduate/Graduate (IUG) program. That is a five-year progression in which students receive a bachelor’s degree in special education and master’s degree in curriculum and instruction.
Fuentes graduated in 2011 and worked for three years at the Grove School in Madison, Connecticut, a therapeutic, college-preparatory boarding school, before returning to Penn State in August to begin pursuit of a doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction.
And, she, too, is a donor. “I mean, a little bit. At the end of the day I was still a teacher and it was never going to be millions,’’ she said.
“I was so lucky in receiving the scholarships I received and when I went to donate I tried to split my money between the scholarship funds and S.C.O.P.E. because those two things were what made my experience here possible. S.C.O.P.E. showed me how amazing Penn State is and once I got here those scholarships made it possible for me to go here.’’