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Welcome to our e-newsletter
Minds in Motion
We are college-bound this month! Take a peek at some alums who are making impressive strides in their educational journeys. Plus, Program Coordinator Amelia Pace-Borah explores transformations that truly inspire in the Final Word.
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Get Ready to Amplify Free Minds!
On March 20 and 21, we will participate in the second annual Amplify Austin, the city-wide day of giving. Last year Amplify raised $2.7 million for local nonprofits. This year the goal is to raise $4 million. It's a big day for Austin and an exciting one for Free Minds. Our program will be the focus of Foundation Communities' Amplify outreach, so any money you give to Foundation Communities will support the educational opportunities we offer adults and their families. And the St. David's Foundation will be matching every $1 given with 50 cents, so this is a great chance to make your donations stretch even further. Stay tuned, or if you just can't wait, you can pledge your support now!
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Alums Pursue College Beyond Free Minds
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(from left) Alums Lucia Williams, '11, Liliana Pierce, '09, Kellee Coleman, '08, and Jennifer Reyes, '12, at 2013 College Fair
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What do Free Minds students do once they hand in final papers and don their medals of achievement in May? For many graduates, college is the next step. Recent alums like Liz Buck, Marisol Benton, and Angelique Martin, all members of the Class of 2013, have spent their post-graduation year working through core classes at ACC; other graduates have gone on to Concordia, St. Edward's University, Texas State, and even as far afield as the New England College of Business and Finance.
The fields of study that grads pursue include social work, Spanish, nursing, kinesiology, and government. Our students have also put their improved writing skills to the test, applying for and receiving scholarships from the Deana Kendrick Foundation, the Housing Authority of Austin, and Zonta International. In 2013, Kellee Coleman, '08, was named a McNair Scholar at St. Edward's University, an honor accompanied by increased training and resources for pursuing graduate level work. Hilda Rivas, '11, is on course to walk the stage in May 2014 with a BA in Human Services from St. Edward's, and Cristina Maldonado, '12, will earn her BA in Business Administration this December.
We look forward to hearing words of wisdom from Kellee and Hilda, who will be featured alongside fellow graduates Stacey Kennedy, '12, and Jarmesha Harris, '12, at the upcoming college fair.
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You're invited to our annual
COLLEGE FAIR
Thursday, Feb. 27
6:30-8:30 pm
M Station Apartments (2906 East MLK Jr. Blvd.)
above the leasing office
- Meet representatives from local colleges
- Complete financial aid paperwork with the Cash for College program
- Get tips for college success from ACC advisors
- Hear from a panel of Free Minds graduates who have transitioned to college
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Special Thanks As we settle into our new home at Foundation Communities, we want to give warm appreciation this month to the academic partnerships that keep Free Minds rigorous and strong: ACC Division of Arts and Humanities Student Services, Riverside Campus UT Austin Center for Mexican American Studies Center for Women's and Gender Studies Department of English Division of Diversity and Community Engagement Humanities Institute
If you are interested in volunteering with or supporting Free Minds, you can find more information on our website.
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   Minds in Motion Archive January 2014
One student heads to Cambridge and another unlocks new opportunities on the job.
We celebrate fall semester and look back at the East Austin of yore.
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The Final Word
Program Coordinator Amelia Pace-Borah on Becoming a Student
 I don't remember exactly how it happened, but my senior year in high school, I became a student. Maybe it was because I had an English teacher who gave me the freedom to choose what I read, or maybe because I was staring down the end of years of forced public school. I think I realized that my education was being turned back over to me, no longer the purview of concerned adults.
For whatever reason, school became important to me. I had never seen myself as the smartest kid in class, and I still didn't. But I came to see myself as someone willing to try. Time spent ambitiously pouring over Faulkner's As I Lay Dying (I didn't have a clue!) or the risk of being wrong when I spoke up in class--these vulnerable times made my incremental victories that much more rewarding.
Over a decade and two degrees later, this process of coming to see oneself as a capable learner still lights my fire. And I'm lucky, because nearly two years into my role at Free Minds, I bear witness to this kind of transformation all the time.
Angelique Martin, proud graduate of the Class of 2013, talked about coming out of incarceration and into the classroom, saying, "To me, I was a convicted felon. Now I'm so much more of a person than that. I take my time, I analyze things." I see this change in our current class too. You can spot Estephania by her gigantic, silver purse--useful, she says, because she can bring her books with her everywhere she goes. These days, I walk into class and find the room all abuzz--Michael and Rosalie sorting through the pros and cons of various college majors; Kylie picking Vivé's brain about the essay due next week; Gabriela looking back over the assigned chapter--just completely owning it!
So often we are labeled in broad terms--parent or employee or spouse. It's remarkable how our group complicates these terms. Whether at home or at work or in the classroom, Free Minds graduates live into these new labels--learners, thinkers, writers. They see themselves anew and make the classroom a space to call their own.
Amelia has served as program coordinator for Free Minds since 2012. She holds degrees in humanities from The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Chicago.
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A program of Foundation Communities, in partnership with The University of Texas at Austin and Austin Community College, 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
Foundation Communities
3036 South 1st Street
Austin TX, 78704
Project Director: Vivé Griffith Program Coordinator: Amelia Pace-Borah Ph: 512-610-7961 F: 512-447-0288
www.FreeMindsAustin.org |
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