Colorado students tour Historically Black Colleges and Universities
DENVER — “Tinker” has been Chase Cope’s nickname since third grade.
Cope's mother gave her the nickname because she was the family’s 'problem fixer'. Issues with computers? Cope was on it. Faulty gadget? Cope had it working in no time.
Years of that nickname did something to Cope. She felt capable, intelligent... like she could do anything with her life.
Now that she’s a Junior at DSST: Conservatory Green High School, Cope wants to make the most of her college career. Her dream is to become an aerospace engineer, but she wanted to be sure to choose a college or university that will understand and support her.
That’s when she came across an opportunity with RISE 5280.
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Every year, RISE 5280 mentors students on an array of topics. From finances to how to navigate a college campus, the program teaches with a sensitivity to the student’s backgrounds.
In addition to mentoring, Rise 5280 provides academic support, community service and college tours. What they’re most known for is their Historically Black Colleges and Universities Tours. According to their website, so far they’ve gone on 8 tours with 400+ students.
Cope was one of the students who attended this year, helping RISE 5280 break their own record with close to 100 students on the HBCU Fall Tour.
Michelyn Johnson is the Executive Director and Founder of RISE 5280. She says a large focus of the project is showing youth the vast variety of exciting things they can get involved in with hopes they'll share their passion with others.
She told Rocky Mountain PBS, “We have real mentorship and real leaders in the community pour into our youth, and hopefully the kids continue with the program and then they come back and pour into their communities as well.”
Rise 5280 started in 2016 with 11 students. This year, over 100 kids are receiving wrap-around services focused on college readiness.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) describes Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as institutions that were established prior to 1964 with the principal mission of educating Black Americans.
NCES also said that in 2020, there were 101 HBCUs located in 19 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Of the 101 HBCUs, 52 were public institutions and 49 were private nonprofit institutions. The number of HBCU students increased by 47% between 1976 and 2010, then decreased by 15% between 2010 and 2020.
Colorado doesn’t have any HBCU colleges or universities, which is why the tour takes the students across the country to examine their options.
For RISE 5280, it’s important that these institutions keep enrollments up to continue to support students in ways other institutions simply cannot.
Jakye Nunley, a senior who went on the tour. “To see Black people uplifting each other and embracing each other, it was amazing!” he mused.
As a part of the tour, students are encouraged to apply on site to the colleges and Universities. Nunley had already applied to Clark Atlanta University when they visited but was waiting to hear back from admissions.
“When we went to go tour Clark I said, ‘oh my God, what’s happening? Take me to the admissions office.’,” explained Nunley.
He said it was a clear sweep, all the students who were on the trip and had applied to Clark Atlanta, were notified of their acceptance. “It was amazing! We took pictures with the signs, we celebrated. We tore the admissions office up. If we do go to Clark Atlanta, they’re remember us for sure because we partied in the admissions office.”
Chase Cope is a Junior at DSST: Conservatory Green High School. She also went on the trip this year. She said the tour was worth it "just for the experience itself,” said Cope. She plans to tell all her classmates about it and encourage them to go. Her dream is to study aerospace engineer.
Johnson said that of their first cohort, nine students have already graduated from an HBCU. She’s eager to see how many graduates this year.
Sonia Gutierrez is a multimedia journalist with Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach her at soniagutirrez@rmpbs.org.