Bluffs school program celebrates its first graduating class
By Ashlee Coffey
WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE

COUNCIL BLUFFS — A program that encourages high school students to prepare for college held its first graduation ceremony Wednesday, awarding $1,000 scholarships to 22 seniors.

The ceremony at the Council Bluffs Public Library saluted seniors from Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson High Schools who were part of the College Access Program.

One of them, Idil Ahmed, a senior at Thomas Jefferson, is the second-oldest of nine children and the first to attend college.

“My siblings and I are really close in age, so being the first to go to college, I know they’ll be looking up to me,” she said.

The CAP program is run by the AIM Institute, which received a multiyear grant from the Iowa West Foundation in 2009. Iowa West also funded the scholarships.

“There’s one thing we’re really proud of, and that’s 100 percent of our students are moving on to further education. That is an incredible statistic,” said Kandace Miller, AIM president and CEO.

The program serves 100 students in grades nine through 12. Its activities include after-school tutoring and mentoring, tours of college campuses, career exploration and financial aid workshops, and summer academies for such things as preparing for the ACT exam.

Heather Slater, CAP coordinator at Thomas Jefferson, said this year’s seniors took 85 dual credit and AP courses collectively.

“Over the past four years, they’ve (also) spent 648 hours in college prep hours and 1,500 hours volunteering and countless hours planning for scholarships,” she said.

During the ceremony, graduates from each high school spoke of how CAP has affected their lives.

Christina Rivera, a senior at Abraham Lincoln, thanked her school’s coordinator, Phil Hofreiter, for encouraging her to be successful.

“If it wasn’t for CAP, I wouldn’t have gone to as many college visits as I did, and this really helped me narrow down my choices,” Rivera said.

College Access Program sees first graduating class
By Ashlee Coffee moc.enilnolierapnonnull@yeffoca

On Wednesday evening, the first ever graduation ceremony was held for 22 Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson high school seniors who are enrolled in the College Access Program (CAP).

The ceremony, which was held at the Council Bluffs Public Library, included graduates’ parents and family members in attendance, as well as special guests from the Iowa West Foundation, including Pete Tulipana, president and CEO, Susan Miller, chair, and Jerry Mathiasen, senior vice president. Also in attendance was Dr. Ann Mausbach, executive director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Council Bluffs Community School District.

The Iowa West Foundation, which funds CAP, is providing each graduate with a $1,000 scholarship to be used for their college education.

“The Board of Directors of the Iowa West Foundation decided to fund the CAP program for a lot of reasons but the primary reason was we recognized how critically important it is to do everything we can do as a foundation to support young people to be ready to go to college,” Tulipana said. “Congratulations on taking your first step with the CAP program and moving on.”

CAP is run by the AIM Institute, which received a multi-year grant for the program from the Iowa West Foundation in 2009. The goal of the CAP program is to “create brilliant communities by finding and nurturing brilliant minds and tonight we celebrate all of our brilliant graduates,” said Kandace Miller, AIM president and CEO.

“There’s one thing we’re really proud of and that’s 100 percent of our students are moving on to further education. That is an incredible statistic,” Miller said. “Everybody in this room are contributors – you all have a role in that. It’s an amazing accomplishment. You’ve accomplished so much and you deserve every bit of the success that’s coming your way.”

CAP currently serves 100 students in grades 9-12 at Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln high schools in Council Bluffs.

The program provides a variety of activities for students including after-school academic tutoring and mentoring; tours of college campuses; career exploration and financial aid workshops for both students and parents; summer academies such as ACT preparation, “How to Complete a Scholarship Application,” Math Enrichment, and High Ballooning and Rocketing.

Heather Slater, CAP site coordinator at Thomas Jefferson, said this year’s seniors took a total of 85 dual credit and AP courses collectively.

“Not only that but over the past four years, they’ve spent 648 hours in college prep hours and 1,500 hours volunteering and countless hours planning for scholarships,” she said.

During the ceremony, graduates from each high school spoke to the crowd on how CAP has impacted their lives.

“I was supposed to write a speech about one thing CAP has made an impact on in my life and to tell you the truth, I really can’t narrow it down,” said Hans Brummer, a senior at Abraham Lincoln, who plans to become a web programmer. “Unbeknownst to me, CAP would help me with everything. CAP has done a lot for me. I’m really thankful to be in this program and I’d recommend it to all my friends.”

Christina Rivera, a senior at Abraham Lincoln, thanked her school’s CAP site coordinator, Phil Hofreiter, for encouraging her to be successful.

“Being a member of CAP has allowed me to partake in numerous opportunities that I otherwise would not have had access to. If it wasn’t for CAP, I wouldn’t have gone to as many college visits as I did and this really helped me narrow down my choices,” Christina said.

“CAP has helped me in ways I can’t even begin to describe. It’s been an amazing program to be a part of and the people I have encountered are the ones who have guided me in the right direction to attend college. If it weren’t for CAP, I would have missed out on countless opportunities to advance myself as a student but more importantly as an individual.”