Above: Middle schoolers Carlos Alvarado, left, and Kristian Perez show off self-portraits they
made at Riverside. Middle: Dr. Donetta Goodall, left, and Dr. Tyra Duncan-Hall, who founded
the ACC youth programs, congratulate students at the graduation dinner.

Barbecue and laughter substituted for mortar boards and processionals as Austin Community College recently “graduated” nearly 100 area schoolchildren.

Students and their families gathered at the Eastview Campus on Friday, June 20, to celebrate completion of the ACC Summer Youth Academy, an enrichment program for kids in fourth through seventh grade. The evening was the grand finale for the students, who built rockets, starred in TV shows, designed their own T-shirts, and studied rocks under a microscope.

“This academy provides an opportunity for young children to enjoy creative learning activities in a college environment,” says Dr. Richard Armenta, associate vice president of student success. “This is an important step to begin building a college expectation in our community.”

Celebrating its 13th year, the Summer Youth Academy is a partnership between ACC and the school and business communities. School districts identified students to attend the academy, and sponsors Applied Materials, AMD, Spansion, Wells Fargo, and the Texas Regional Collaborative for Excellence in Science Education provided financial support.

Before this year’s academy ends July 2, a total of 200 kids will go to either the Riverside or Eastview Campus, where they’ll make new friends, enjoy activities and field trips, and gain a firsthand look at college life.

“This has been beautiful,” says Albert Perez, Riverside mentor/youth coordinator. “The children love being here.”

“I never had a problem getting my sons to attend,” agrees Teresa Ontiveros. “Every day they had a positive thing to say about the program, and they were always excited about what was coming up next.”

“We got to shoot the rockets, and mine went really far,” says seventh-grader Ben Ontiveros. “It looked like sparklers.”

Most important, the ACC Summer Youth Academy gets kids thinking about future career paths.

“This camp opens a lot of doors for kids,” Armenta says. “It opens them up to ideas, and they’re going to go to middle school and high school in September with more confidence because of this program.

“And we hope they come back when it’s time to go to college.”

Teresa Ontiveros attends the youth academy graduation with her sons Ben, left, and Luke. ACC includes an orientation and four follow-up informational sessions for parents so they can also develop a college-going culture in their family.