On Monday, October 21, Faribault High School’s after-school program, College Ambitions Start today (CAST), visited campus. CAST has been running for about 10 years and is open to all students who want to learn more about life after high school, including college, work aspirations, vocational schools, and community colleges. Carleton students work with CAST to provide support to teachers who run the program in Faribault and help create lesson plans. This relationship with current college students gives kids who participate the chance to ask questions about the college application process and what life is like in college.
The CCCE has two CAST fellows: Alina Maki ’20 and Jaylin Lowe ’21. Both Alina and Jaylin have been involved in CAST and other education programs in Faribault since their freshman years. They also share similar stories about how they got involved: they signed up for more information, decided to try it out one day, and never stopped. “I enjoy building relationships with students and getting to know them and working on their studies,” says Alina. Jaylin agreed, stating, “I really enjoyed getting to know the students, working one-on-one with them. I really enjoyed getting to see that [college application] process, seeing them get excited.”
Along with their after-school program, CAST also holds a few college tours every year. Usually these take place during the summer, but due to the ongoing relationship between CAST and Carleton a tour can take place during the term when classes are in session, giving students better insight into college life. The students were really excited to see a college campus and participants went on an informal tour of the school and a scavenger hunt to help them get a feel for different locations around the college. The tour and scavenger hunt were planned and led by Alina and Jaylin. After viewing the campus, students had dinner in LDC and got to experience a normal meal in the dining hall. During dinner, fellows facilitated discussions with Peer Leaders from multiple departments where students had the chance to ask questions and get different perspectives on what what going to a selective liberal arts school looks like.
If you want to get involved with CAST, you can contact Jaylin Lowe ’21 at lowej2@carleton.edu and fill out the online form. CAST meets Mondays from 3:30–4:30PM and transportation is provided from Sayles at 3:00 and students can expect to return at 5:00PM. For more information about CCCE education programming, please visit our education focus area pages.