Free Minds
February 2013
Welcome to our e-newsletter
Minds in Motion  

 

There's more than one way to share the love this February. In this edition, we hear from a student whose passion for her kids motivates her to pursue a higher education. Also, ever wonder how Free Minds participants and partners feel about us? Find out in this month's Final Word.

        

Support Free Minds on Amplify Austin Day!
 

At 7 pm on March 4, Free Minds students will be gearing up for Monday evening class as usual. But before we open our books, we will celebrate the start of Amplify Austin, a city-wide day of online giving. Hosted by I Live Here, I Give Here, Amplify Austin includes over 300 participating non-profit organizations, Free Minds among them. 

 

Our goal is to raise $5,000 during the 24-hour giving period. The funds will go toward providing course books, child care, faculty stipends, and meals to participants of the class of 2013-14. We need your help! To donate to Free Minds, visit the Amplify Austin website during the event.  

 

Need reasons to support Free Minds? Read on!

Meet Student Marisol Benton
"My kids are a big motivator for me."
 

If you're looking for Marisol Benton around lunchtime, you'll find her in her office breakroom, intently preparing her class assignments. For this mom of three who works two jobs, her precious hour-long lunch break is the best time to study, and she doesn't let the opportunity pass her by.

 

Marisol was already a mother when she dropped out of high school her senior year. She eventually went back and earned her diploma, then went on to get certificates in medical administration and billing and coding. She's worked for the City of Austin since 2008. Recently she shifted her focus back to her education.

 

"My kids are getting older," she says, "I push them, tell them, 'You don't have an option. Right after high school you're going to college, even if I have to work four jobs to get you there.' So if I'm preaching that, I should also be able to show it to them. My kids are a big motivator for me."

 

Marisol has her sights set on a degree in Spanish, with a minor in Sign Language. After growing up with two hearing-impaired parents, she would love to be an interpreter. Her goal is to complete a degree before her oldest son, now 14, heads to college himself.

 

Free Minds has given her the power to beat the fear that was keeping her from going to college, Marisol says. But she credits her ability to take that first step to her friend Angelica Reyes, a 2012 Free Minds graduate. "She was so ecstatic about the program and how it helped her that she inspired me to go back to school."

 

To see Marisol in class with her carefully prepared notes open before her, it's clear she herself will be inspiring future Free Minds students --not to mention the rest of us--for years to come.

 

 

Questions About College?
Get some answers at
the Free Minds College Fair!

 
Jennifer Reyes, '12, meets with Texas State representative at our 2012 college fair.
  

Monday, February 25

6:30-8:30pm

M Station Apartments

2906 East MLK Blvd.

  
This year's college fair will feature representatives from ACC, Concordia, Huston-Tillotson, St. Edward's, Texas State, and WGU Texas. Participants will have the opportunity to complete their FAFSA online while college financial aid experts stand by to assist. A panel of Free Minds graduates who are working toward degrees will share their experience.

The event is free and open to all. Refreshments will be provided.
Issue 35
In This Issue
Support Free Minds on Amplify Austin Day!
Meet a Student: Marisol Benton
College Fair is February 25
The Final Word(s)

  

 

 

Special Thanks 

 

  

We have many people to appreciate this month. We are grateful to the facilitator of our spring goal setting workshop for her thoughtful and generous leadership. Special thanks go to:

 

Lynne Levinson

 

 

We also appreciate the volunteer members of our mentorship planning committee for your dedication to providing on-going support to Free Minds graduates. A big shout out to:  

  
DeAunderia Bowens

Mary Cafferty

Clair Norton

Charlotte Nunes

Michelle Randolph Faires

   

 

 

 If you are interested in volunteering with or supporting Free Minds, you can find more information on our website.

 

 


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Interview with Free Minds student Stacey Kennedy
YOUTUBE: Stacey Kennedy, Free Minds '12, and her son Richmond talk about their journey from homelessness to college.

 

 Minds in Motion

Archive

 

 

 

 

 

 January 2013

 This spring, Free Minds explores what it means to be American.
 

 

 December 2012

We share student stories and hear from a Free Minds evangelist this holiday season.

 

 

Election fever comes to Free Minds.

   

 

 

 

Looking for earlier newsletters? Visit our complete 

online archive.

 

 

 

 

 

The Final Word(s)

Members of Our Community Answer the Question, "Why do I support Free Minds?"

Students Candy Gallegos and Robbie Reed are two reasons to support Free Minds.

 

Free Minds has allowed me to open my mind to areas I've not visited in years and perhaps would not have if it weren't for the encouragement, respect, leadership, and trust I've received in the Free Minds workshops. - Maria Andrade, Free Minds workshop participant

 

Free Minds is an exceptional program for those who have been locked out, denied access to pursuing higher academic attainment. Free Minds takes adult learners where they are and allows those living on meager means to realize their dream of a higher degree if only they would dare to soar academically. - Rev. Freddie Dixon, Director, Community Engagement Center, UT Austin


The question I ask myself is why should access to the great animating ideas of the world be limited only to those who were born under some lucky socio-economic star? The great ideas like truth, beauty, goodness, freedom, piety, and justice are great because they bring value to everyone's life, no matter the circumstances of that life. Free Minds is the access road to the highway of wisdom. - Lyman Grant, Dean of Arts and Humanities, Austin Community College
  
When I think of Free Minds, I remember my grandfather. He never had the opportunity to access much formal education and yet he had so much wisdom to share with me and those around him about what's important in life. I love that Free Minds gives students the chance to study the humanities and give voice to their experiences and perspectives in ways that truly enrich our community. - Julian Huerta, Deputy Executive Director, Foundation Communities
  
Free Minds infuses college with community, making the learning environment all the more easy. Students are challenged to think critically and learn at an exponential rate. It is hard work that feels more like sitting at the family dinner table among hungry teens eager to eat, only these are adults willing and eager to satisfy a different kind of hunger. -Lucia A. Williams, Free Minds Class of 2011
  
I support the Free Minds Project because they support me in so many ways beyond education. All of the professors and staff are part of my extended family. They have willing ears and warm hearts. I will make the transition to ACC without worries because Free Minds has given me the tools to take my education to the next level. Life-changing events are few and far between; my life has changed for the better and ain't no stopping me now. - Angelique Martin, Free Minds Class of 2013
The University of Texas at Austin
A program of the UT Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, in partnership with the UT Humanities Institute, Austin Community College, and Foundation Communities, Free Minds offers a two-semester college course in the humanities for Central Texas adults who want to fulfill their intellectual potential and begin a new chapter in their lives.

Free Minds Project
Community Engagement Center
1009 East 11th Street, #218
Austin TX 78702

Project Director: Viv� Griffith

Program Coordinator: Amelia Pace-Borah

 

Ph: 512-232-6093   F: 512-236-1729

 

www.freemindsaustin.org