Oh the Places You’ll Go! Congratulations YEOC Seniors
It was a bittersweet final Senior Celebration Session for the YEOC 2015-2016 school year saying goodbye to our graduating high school seniors. Katie Campbell, Campus Recruiter at EY kicked off the morning with a What’s Next: Future Opportunities with EY panel with YEOC mentors/MITs Carlos Barrios, Keith Acfalle, Alvin Benavides, Bahari Watkins, and Abiel Zewolday speaking about how to stay connected with EY and the power of mentors while in college.
The breakout sessions that followed were divided into three student workshops: attending UW, attending a four-year-college, and attending a community college/alternative route. Each breakout session gave a brief overview of tips and tricks of transitioning to college no matter what path taken. After a full morning on workshops and panels, the mentees had some time to think about their dreams and goals during the next chapter of their lives with a hands-on vision board activity led by YEOC mentors Ty Seyoum and Melat Abraham.
College Code Panel: Real Talks was the final workshop of the day. Mentees gathered in small groups with mentors and in an open and safe environment to talk about any questions they have related to college. Mentors and mentees love this workshop because it everyone a chance to break down the barriers and ask those hard questions about college, friends, relationships, and family we may not get to during the year.
The Senior Spotlight Ceremony led by YEOC Mentors Karla Belmonte and Frankie Godoy-Cortes wrapped up the May session. Each YEOC mentee was recognized for their hard work and dedication to the YEOC program and was given the chance to share with the audience their plans after high school. Keynote Speaker Mike Guevarra, YEOC Student Alumni, shared his parting words with the students at their exciting transition in their life and ended the ceremony with a toast to the YEOC family.
It’s been a wonderful year at YEOC and we can’t wait to see you all next year!
An example of the vision board activity with YEOC mentees
YEOC mentee shows off one of her quotes to add to her own vision board
YEOC mentee shows off one of her quotes to add to her own vision board
YEOC mentee shows off one of her quotes to add to her own vision board
YEOC mentee shows off one of her quotes to add to her own vision board
Senior mentees searching through magazines for inspiration on their vision board
Two YEOC seniors recording where they will be headed to college.
Graduating class of YEOC seniors. Oh the places you’ll go!
This blog post was written by Midori Ng. Photography by Emmeline Vu, Uyen Cao, and Matt Hagen.
The mission of the YEOC (Young Executives of Color) program is to cultivate the academic potential of underrepresented high school student leaders in Washington State through college preparation, powerful mentorship, and the development of real life business skills. Find out more about the YEOC program on the Foster website. Follow YEOC on Facebook and Instagram: @yeocuw.
