UW-Green Bay to host more than 1,600 fifth graders on Oct. 10-11, 2018
GREEN BAY – The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay will host its 14th annual Phuture Phoenix Campus Visit, Oct. 10-11, 2018, welcoming more than 1,600 students from 15 Green Bay Area Public Elementary Schools, Bowler Elementary, Bonduel Elementary, Gillett Elementary, West De Pere Elementary Schools, Oneida Nation Turtle School, Keshena Primary, Oconto Middle School, Oconto Falls Elementary, Abrams Elementary, Sturgeon Bay Sunrise Elementary, and Suring Elementary School. Participants will visit the UW-Green Bay campus and dare to dream about going to college.
UW-Green Bay’s signature Phuture Phoenix program partners with schools that have high percentages of students from low-income families and encourages students to graduate from high school and pursue a college education.
The program has hosted a total of 19,017 fifth-grade students during the annual campus visits every October since it began in 2003. To help support the campus experience for fifth graders, there will be more than 300 UW-Green Bay students volunteering to serve as role models and group leaders for the day and 107 UW-Green Bay faculty and staff members participating in various activities and sharing their classrooms on campus.
Phuture Phoenix is a coordinated program to inspire academic success and alert children to educational opportunities that are available to them. College prep starts early, and the Phuture Phoenix campus experiences offer students a first-hand look at the necessary steps to pursue and attain higher education goals, as well as everything the a university education can offer. Phuture Phoenix programming helps prepare elementary school students for college early, said Jenny Woldt, fifth-grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School.
“You have to start in kindergarten, get it in their brain that they are college bound no matter where they come from, and that they just need to work hard in school and work hard in their community, and they can get there.”
Included in this fall’s campus experience are expanded partnerships with the Kress Events Center and UW-Green Bay’s Office of Residence Life, making it possible for fifth graders to experience two essential elements of college life: recreational opportunities and on-campus housing.
“The Office of Residence Life is happy to be able to participate in the Phuture Phoenix program, as it’s never too early to introduce the concept of attending college,” said UWGB Director of Residence Life, Gail Sims-Aubert. “It’s so important that today’s youth understand going to college means they will be a part of a vibrant educational experience both inside and outside the classroom. This program is an outstanding opportunity to provide a sneak peak of life on campus.”
All students who participate in the Phuture Phoenix Campus Visit days are eligible to apply for a Phuture Phoenix Scholarship if they choose to attend UW-Green Bay after graduating high school.
More information about Phuture Phoenix is available at http://www.uwgb.edu/phuture-phoenix/
###
