Cincinnati Museum Center program boasts 99% high school graduation rate in its 29th year
CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC) hosted its annual Awards and Recognition Banquet for its Youth Programs participants Wednesday night, wishing 14 graduating seniors well as they begin the next steps of their journeys. The graduating seniors offered passing words of encouragement and wisdom to their friends, including 23 incoming Youth Programs members from 17 area schools.
CMC’s Youth Programs began as a youth volunteer program with two students in the Museum of Natural History & Science in 1989 and has since blossomed into a premier youth development initiative. The program is designed to prepare participants for success in high school, college and beyond. Since the inception of the program, over 1,700 participants have contributed more than 250,000 hours to CMC.
Youth Programs is designed to enhance the creativity, confidence and success of its members. Academic success is a cornerstone of the program, with 100 percent of participants graduating from high school. The staff empowers participants through workshops, college visits, volunteerism and skill development to pursue higher education, which is uncharted territory for many in the program who are first generation college students. An outstanding 99 percent of participants go on to enroll in a 4-year college, with 80 percent receiving scholarships or financial aid.
“The students who participate in our Youth Programs are truly inspiring and demonstrate such promise for their futures, which shine brighter than ever,” said Elizabeth Pierce, president and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center. “Working alongside them in the museums and watching them with guests in the community invigorates and helps us grow as professionals and helps these high school students prepare themselves for the next step in their journeys.”
In the 2017-2018 year, Youth Programs provided valuable mentorship and the unique opportunity to work in all facets of a museum for 137 youth. Students worked on the floor and behind the scenes in the Duke Energy Children’s Museum and special exhibitions including Star Wars™ and the Power of Costume, Holiday Junction featuring Brickopolis and Mission Aerospace. Student also took their talents into the community as part of CMC’s Curate My Community initiative, delivering programming and interpretation around CMC’s artifacts, scientific specimens and programs in locations across Greater Cincinnati.
With the continued temporary closure of the Museum of Natural History & Science and Cincinnati History Museum as Union Terminal undergoes its historic restoration, CMC’s Youth Programs students also gained experience at the Cincinnati Art Museum , offering participants an expanded range of mentors, program topics and museum experiences. Students in the program worked at interactive stations within the Cincinnati Art Museum, including the Rosenthal Education Center, assisting with guest research and working special art programs.
“These students have done so much for Cincinnati Museum Center, the Cincinnati Art Museum and their own community, serving as ambassadors and educators,” said Calvin Harper, director of Youth Programs at Cincinnati Museum Center. “Watching these students from such diverse backgrounds and experiences grow together and form such strong bonds is an example we can all follow. It’s bittersweet to say goodbye to our graduating seniors but we’re excited to watch them continue their journeys in the world as they enrich themselves and the communities around them.”
CMC’s Youth Programs would not be possible without the generosity of the 2017-2018 supporters: Best Buy Children’s Foundation, Enterprise Holdings Foundation, Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Ohio National Financial Services, Staples Foundation, Summertime Kids Fund/Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Turner Family Fund, U.S. Bancorp Foundation and Willard & Jean Mulford Charitable Fund, Cambridge Charitable Foundation.
Youth Programs and CMC wish the following seniors success as they continue their journeys:
Rashaan Boyd, Walnut Hills High School, will be attending The Ohio State University.
Abbie Enloe, Ohio Virtual Academy, will be attending the University of Cincinnati – Clermont.
Latasha Hamner, Walnut Hills High School, is undecided on where she will continue her academic journey.
Isaac Henry, Covington Latin School , will be attending Thomas More College.
Lawrence Jones, Roger Bacon High School, is undecided on where he will continue his academic journey.
Heather Konerman, Holy Cross High School, will be attending Thomas More College.
Tyana Mulholland, Schroder High School, is undecided on where she will continue her academic journey.
Ian Murray, Leaves of Learning , is undecided on where he will continue his academic journey.
Edem Nevis, Colerain High School, is undecided on where he will continue his academic journey.
Andy Pollard, home school, will be attending Northern Kentucky University.
Kevin Pollard, home school, will be attending Thomas More College.
David Roach, Valley View High School, will be attending Miami University.
Madeline Straub, School of Creative and Performing Arts, will be attending Miami University.
Donald Washington, Walnut Hills High School, will be attending the University of Cincinnati.
For more information, visit www.cincymuseum.org
