Kirtland Foundation Kicks Off Path to Success For 2023-2024 Local Area Schools
On August 12, the Kirtland Foundation officially began its 2023-2024 seasonal program Path to Success with an event centered around facts about Kirtland Community College and creating interaction amongst local area 7th-12th grade students.
“Path to Success is seeing the kids empowered by finding their abilities and passions through activities each month and making new friends,” said Kirtland Foundation Assistant Director Alice Furstenau.
Path to Success is a program hosted by the Kirtland Foundation that brings together 7th-grade students from Charlton Heston Academy, Grayling, Houghton Lake, Our Lady of the Lake, and Roscommon area schools. This year, the program welcomed 27 new 7th-12th grade students, with an overall 60 students participating from various grades.
“The Path to Success program is a great way for students from different school districts to come together and interact,” said Kirtland Foundation Director Heather Appold. “Whether it’s a social or academic program, the students are receiving skills beyond their classrooms and are having fun while doing it.”
Designed to provide participating students with social and academic events, Path to Success creates a learning environment through interaction and friendship-building between students. A few events included in this year’s calendar include:
- Photography.
- Painting with watercolors.
- Learning about the health sciences programs, Cardiac Sonography and Surgical Technology.
- Helping the Community through Community Service.
- A tour of Camp Grayling.
“I love to watch the kids get excited as friends from other schools arrive and how much fun they are having together,” said Furstenau. “They don’t realize they are learning new skills with each activity.”
Path to Success promotes academic achievement, cultural awareness, social development, and higher education to academically promising students facing challenges in post-secondary education. With funding provided by private donations, participating students are not required to pay for entry into the program or event costs.
“I learned more life skills and discovered more things about our world and different jobs available to me,” said Mya Gabriel. “The number of new friends I made was incredible!”
About the Kirtland Foundation
As an independent 501(c)(3) organization, the Kirtland Foundation raises money from private donors, local businesses, alumni and more, then allocates funds in the form of scholarships and grants to Kirtland Community College students and faculty and staff. https://www.kirtland.edu/foundation/
