Fidelity Investments® Gives Local Students Opportunity to Visit D.C.-Area Colleges

September 28, 2011

DURHAM, N.C., July 8, 2011— Five local educators and nearly 20 students visited the nation’s capital in June thanks to the “Fidelity Field Trips” program, which is part of Fidelity Investments’ national partnership with Teach For America, which recruits, trains, and supports top college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in under-resourced schools and become lifelong leaders in the pursuit of educational equity. The partnership with Fidelity is designed to help enhance educational opportunities for thousands of middle and high school students across the United States by providing out-of-classroom learning experiences and leveraging the talent of Fidelity employees through their volunteer efforts./p>

Leading up to their visits to Georgetown University, Howard University, and the University of Maryland, the students attended weekly after-school sessions led by their teachers to prepare for the SAT exam and learn about the college application process. The students also toured the U.S. Capitol and met with a staff member from U.S. Representative G.K. Butterfield’s office.

“Helping students prepare for college aligns with the goal of the Fidelity Field Trip program of engaging teachers, students, and Fidelity employees in inspirational learning opportunities that illustrate the real-life application of classroom education through field trips,” said Nicole Reginelli, community relations manager for Fidelity Investments. “The focus on college and career opportunities is critical to our work of supporting youth and education in our communities.”

The college-readiness seminars and field trip were led by Precious Barnes, a college counselor at Northwest Halifax; Mike Beebe, a math teacher at Northwest Halifax; Erin Davis, a college counselor at KIPP; Josh DoBell, an English teacher at KIPP; and Cassandra Mall, an English teacher at Lee County High School. Beebe and DoBell are Teach For America alumni.

“We have a great number of high-achieving excellent students in Eastern North Carolina with the potential to become powerful agents of positive change in their local communities, but there are often too many barriers to achieving success,” Beebe said. “I am very proud of these students, who worked hard to study for the SAT exam and asked insightful questions about the college application process both during our seminars and on the field trip.”

“I found the trip to be a great experience,” said Kennethra Price, who will be a senior at Northwest Halifax this fall. “It gave me the chance to feel how it is to view a variety of colleges. Talking with the different college students really helped me feel comfortable about my upcoming senior year. I really enjoyed Howard because that is one of my dream schools.”

Teach For American began placing teachers, also known as corps members, in Eastern North Carolina in 1990, the organization’s first year placing teachers anywhere nationwide. In the 2011-12 school year, roughly 150 corps members will be teaching in high-need schools across the region, impacting more than 8,000 students.

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