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Lisa Kennedy, a Laidlaw Scholar at Georgetown College, on Analysing Rural College students’ Functions to Georgetown College.
Analysis Title:
From 7,000 to 700,000: A comparative Evaluation of Rural College students’ Functions to Georgetown College.
A lot analysis has been directed at analyzing disparities in postsecondary enrollment/attainment between rural and non-rural populations. Nonetheless, there was little consideration given to the experiences of rural college students who do determine to use to 4-year postsecondary packages, notably at elite establishments. Utilizing a quantitative strategy, this examine in contrast the whole utility recordsdata of 30 rural and 30 non-rural accepted undergraduate candidates to Georgetown College. The samples had been additionally analyzed in relation to their broader inhabitants utilizing US Census and Division of Schooling information.
Generally, when in comparison with non-rural candidates, rural candidates had been: a lot much less racially various; more likely to have attended a public secondary college; barely extra prone to have legacy standing; and more likely to have mentioned their hometown of their private statements. Moreover, the counselor suggestion letters for rural candidates had been, on common, 326.5 phrases shorter than these of non-rural candidates. In relation to the broader rural inhabitants, rural candidates had been more likely to have extremely educated mother and father. This means that Georgetown’s rural applicant pool isn’t essentially consultant of the agricultural inhabitants.
These outcomes current vital implications for the school admissions course of, notably with regard to the counselor suggestion requirement. With the information gathered on this analysis, it’s my hope that rural faculties will achieve a greater understanding of tips on how to accommodate their college students’ wants and that postsecondary establishments will achieve perception into tips on how to higher recruit and retain these college students.
The place did your ardour for this analysis originate?
My ardour for this analysis comes from my very own expertise as a rural pupil attempting to navigate the school admissions course of. I grew up in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, a city of about 7,000 individuals. I went to a giant highschool with over a 375:1 student-to-counselor ratio, which meant I didn’t get a lot assist with making use of to school. Most college students at my college didn’t go to four-year schools, and I didn’t even know my counselor, which made the advice letter requirement for Georgetown particularly powerful. Making use of to an elite college felt intimidating and isolating, and I do know different rural college students really feel the identical approach.
After I bought to Georgetown, I began researching the historical past of working-class girls on the college and ended up connecting with the Dean of Admissions. He was engaged on recruiting extra rural college students and needed to listen to about my expertise. These conversations, together with encouragement from the Georgetown Heart for Analysis and Fellowships, pushed me to suggest a analysis undertaking centered on rural college students’ experiences within the school admissions course of.This analysis is private to me. It comes from my very own struggles with making use of to school and my want to assist different rural college students keep away from feeling as misplaced as I did. I hope it could actually present faculties and universities with sensible methods to higher assist rural college students. This analysis is deeply rooted in my private expertise and my want to higher assist rural individuals, faculties, and communities by means of analysis, training, and advocacy.
How have you ever utilized your management abilities in actual life? What are some insights & classes out of your expertise?
I’ve had the prospect to use my management abilities in a number of real-world settings, however one of the vital impactful has been my work with the Rural Colleges Collaborative (RSC). As a part of my second summer time within the Laidlaw Undergraduate Management and Analysis Program, I partnered with RSC on a leadership-in-action undertaking, which included growing a #ruralcollegeequity social media marketing campaign. To form the marketing campaign, I performed interviews with rural college students and educators, gathered insights, and introduced my concepts at their Regional Hub Summit in Springfield, Missouri. This summit gave me the chance to attach with individuals deeply invested in rural training and study from their experiences.
One key lesson got here after I shared my imaginative and prescient for rising rural college students’ entry to elite schools. A board member requested me a easy however highly effective query: “What are you doing in your hometown?” That second pushed me to rethink my strategy. I noticed that focusing solely on elite school entry may unintentionally endorse the concept that rural college students want to go away their communities to succeed. This angle, sometimes called the “extraction mannequin,” undermines rural communities and perpetuates inequality. Since then, I’ve broadened my focus to advocate for insurance policies that strengthen rural faculties and communities themselves. This consists of addressing primary infrastructure points like broadband entry and the scarcity of certified lecturers in rural faculties. Throughout my second summit presentation, I emphasised the significance of university-community partnerships that each recruit rural college students and assist their residence communities.
This dedication carried into my work this fall as a Rural Engagement Intern with the Division of Schooling. Underneath the steering of Julia Cunningham, Director of Rural Engagement for ED, I’ve tailor-made nationwide initiatives like Secretary Miguel Cardona’s Increase the Bar program to fulfill the wants of rural areas. I’ve additionally realized that efficient management typically means persuading individuals who won’t initially see the worth of your trigger, framing it in ways in which resonate with their priorities. From these experiences, I’ve realized that management isn’t nearly having a imaginative and prescient—it’s about listening, adapting, and specializing in options that create lasting change for the communities you intention to serve.
Lisa and different staff of the Rural Colleges Collaborative (RSC) on the first annual RSC Regional Hub Summit.
Lisa’s High Management Ideas
- Hear and adapt to the communities you serve.
- Give attention to the basis reason for the issues you hope to handle, not their outgrowths.
- Body your concepts in a approach that may resonate with these outdoors your discipline of experience.
- Repeatedly replicate on how your personal experiences and biases affect your work and the communities you hope to serve.
- At all times stability imaginative and prescient with motion, regularly checking in with mentors, journaling, and reminding your self why you began.
What does it imply so that you can be a Laidlaw Scholar?
Being a Laidlaw Scholar means main with function and sticking with it, even when it feels such as you’re by yourself. It’s about turning curiosity into motion that makes a distinction for others. The cohort-based mannequin of the analysis summer time was particularly significant to me—regardless of having completely different educational and analysis pursuits, all of us shared a dedication to service. Laidlaw is the place I met a few of my finest buddies, individuals who supported me by means of tasks just like the #ruralcollegeequity marketing campaign. It confirmed me that management isn’t one thing you do alone—it’s about working collectively and staying centered on creating actual change. Most of all, Laidlaw is about turning analysis and mental curiosity into significant motion.
Lisa presenting to attendees on the 2024 Rural Colleges Collaborative Regional Hub Summit about her analysis on university-community partnerships and the way they might improve rural pupil enrollment and attainment.
Which explicit leaders encourage you essentially the most and why?
The leaders who encourage me most are Missy Foy, Director of the Georgetown Students Program (GSP), and Dean Charles Deacon, Georgetown’s Dean of Undergraduate Admissions. Each performed a key position in founding GSP, which helps first-generation and low-income college students, and each have develop into two of my most vital mentors. Missy conjures up me to guide with empathy—she spends her days within the GSP lounge speaking with college students, and when she sees a necessity, she acts on it to make institutional change. Dean Deacon conjures up me together with his deep dedication to service. After greater than 50 years as dean, he continues to adapt to challenges and works to make admissions extra equitable. Collectively, they present me the sort of chief I wish to be: somebody who focuses on individuals, stays dedicated to their mission, and works to create actual change. They’ve formed my school expertise in numerous methods, and I’m extremely grateful for his or her instance and assist.
Briefly describe a scene from the longer term you might be striving to create.
I think about a future the place each rural college has sufficient lecturers, dependable broadband, robust counselor assist, and place-based training that values the neighborhood it serves. On this future, rural college students have the instruments they should get an training and preserve going in the event that they wish to, with out feeling like they’re ranging from behind. Rural areas aren’t seen by means of deficit-based stereotypes however are valued as important elements of society. I additionally see a world the place Indigenous and tribal nations have full political and cultural sovereignty over their land. The Land Again Motion is profitable, Native languages are preserved, and Indigenous communities are capable of thrive on their very own phrases, main with their traditions and values.
Fast-fire Questions
📺 At the moment binging:
📚 My prime ebook suggestion:
Generations: A Memoir by Lucille Clifton
🎶 My anthem:
Do not Suppose Twice, It is All Proper by Bob Dylan
🎙️Podcast obsession:
5-4 Podcast
One thing that made me really feel pleasure lately 🌈:
Visiting the Columbia Highway flower market in London!
If you wish to study extra about Lisa’s work, discover Lisa’s analysis right here and comply with her on LinkedIn. Alison is a Laidlaw Undergraduate Management and Analysis Scholar at @Georgetown College. Turn into a Laidlaw Scholar to conduct a analysis undertaking of your selection, develop your management abilities, and be part of a worldwide neighborhood of changemakers from world-leading universities.
Discover out extra concerning the Laidlaw Students Undergraduate Management and Analysis Programme.
🔦 Uncover extra Scholar Spotlights:
⚡️ Anuj (AJ) Manchanda, a Laidlaw Scholar on the College of Toronto, delves into how Environmental CSR initiatives form client selections.
⚡️ Sebastian Glasper, a Laidlaw Scholar on the College of Leeds, explores social media’s position in mitigating loneliness amongst older adults.
⚡️ Sophia Waseem Khan, a Laidlaw Scholar at Durham College, champions sustainable agriculture by means of progressive ion restoration.
