Harrison takes reins of ASPIRE Program

Susanna Harrison is the new coordinator for the ASPIRE Program at Sisters High School. The program helps prepare students for careers.

"The core of the ASPIRE program is its volunteers," said Harrison.

Harrison was a volunteer advisor last year as well as a teacher of French at the high school. The program meant so much to her that when the position for program coordinator became available she applied.

"ASPIRE is a valuable part of Sisters High School...I am eager to see all of the expertise and resources the volunteer advisors, the high school counselors, and the college counselor bring to the table to best serve our students," said Harrison.

ASPIRE matches trained community volunteers with high school students to provide one-on-one mentoring. ASPIRE provides advising, resources, and encouragement to help students access education and training beyond high school.

At a meeting last week, senior counselor Dan Saraceno said, "A lot of groundwork has been laid in building this program and now we need to focus on pulling all the resources together and becoming a team to streamline the processes and to best meet the needs of our students."

Harrison's focus this year is to update and reorganize the process to best serve the students.

"We have so many resources available to use. ASPIRE pulls it all together to give everyone the tools needed. My role, my emphasis, is to see that the volunteer advisors are well prepared and not overloaded," she said. "They in turn meet with the students and the student benefits from some one-on-one mentoring regarding their plans after high school.

"What's so exciting this year is that we've restructured the way we do things so that each volunteer advisor does not need to be an expert in all areas but only aware of the resources we have here in house to serve our students. Whether that's a college search, financial aid, scholarships, or simply - as my predecessor would say - 'to find their dream.'"

In her fifth year as a volunteer advisor, Val Anderson said she continues to volunteer "because of the joy of working with the kids. Seeing their expressions when they finally figure out what they want to do. My greatest joy was seeing a kid jumping around the plaza when I helped him enroll in college. He never thought he'd be able to go to college due to his grades. I love seeing the students reach for their dreams that they didn't think they could ever get."

Harrison said, "The Sisters ASPIRE program is a model for the state, and we intend to keep it that way. I can't think of a person in our community that wouldn't have something to offer our students. Anyone can do this. We can find a place for anyone who wants to help our students to understand and access their opportunities after high school...their dream. The ASPIRE program is under the Counseling Dept. leadership. We don't take the place of parents or the counselors at Sisters High School."

With just a little bit of training, offered in October, you can be an ASPIRE volunteer advisor mentoring our students. Orientation for new volunteers is Tuesday, October 7, from noon to 1:30 p.m. or Thursday, October 9, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. The commitment is about five hours a month. Call the ASPIRE offices for more information at 549-3203.