Thrive

Ed Trust Tennessee > Thrive

What is Thrive?

Tennessee has received national attention for our work to make college more affordable through initiatives like HOPE and Tennessee Promise. More than almost any other factor, a postsecondary degree is the ticket to achieving social and economic mobility, yet too few students of color and from low-income backgrounds are able to enroll in, afford, and complete college.

The Thrive Network is a new year-long project of The Education Trust in Tennessee that aims to equip Black and Latino students, and community organizations serving these students, with tools and resources to identify and advance proven strategies to increase the number Black and Latino students progressing to postsecondary education.

Guiding Principles

How does the path to college work today and is it serving students well?

Step 01: Discover

We will uncover what supports, processes, and tools are available in Tennessee’s existing college access landscape by examining data and uplifting students’ stories.

What strategies can we use to improve the path to college for marginalized students?

Step 02: Investigate

We will explore data-driven best practices, occurring across Tennessee and throughout the country, to improve the path to postsecondary for historically excluded students.

How can we champion policies and programs to improve college access in Tennessee?

Step 03: Advance

We will advocate for the implementation of a set of proven strategies to improve the college access process for students of color and those from low income backgrounds. We’ll champion these recommendations both at the district level and statewide.

Thrive Fellows

The Education Trust in Tennessee has launched our first cohort of Thrive Fellows, and they are students attending universities or colleges across the state. The Thrive Fellowship is a year-long program from January–December 2022, with the goal equipping a network of students to connect their personal experiences to concrete data, policies, and practices related to the journey from high school to college completion. Thrive Fellows will build a community with peers across the state, deepen their understanding of education systems and pathways to postsecondary success, and develop research skills in order to complete a Youth Participatory Action Research Project (YPAR) that will inform their advocacy on key issues related to college access.

Thrive Community of Practice

The Thrive Community of Practice is an opportunity for organizations working directly with students on post-secondary access or success to receive funding to develop or expand a strategy that ensures more students of color are making it to and through college. The Education Trust in Tennessee has awarded funding to support five projects over the course of 2022. Grant recipients will receive targeted coaching and support as they implement their projects, including workshops on project evaluation, advocacy, communications and policy analysis from experts in the field.

Meet the Thrive Fellows

Alejandra Osorio

Alejandra Osorio

Maryville College | Junior | Neuroscience and Criminal Justice

What education policy or justice issue do you care about most and why?
I care the most about DREAMERS and immigrant children and the policies. Children of immigrant parents do not know how or what to do when it comes to applying to secondary education like a college or university. They don’t know what opportunities they could potentially have and how they can give back to their community and help one another.

What is a quote or saying you live by?
“You will never influence the world by trying to be like it.”

Autumn Grimsley

Autumn Grimsley

Belmont University | Sophomore | Biology, Chemistry

What education policy or justice issue do you care about most and why?
I am very passionate about making high quality healthcare accessible to all. I believe wholeheartedly that healthcare is a right, and that it shouldn’t just be afforded to those who have the money to cover the cost.

What is a quote or saying you live by?
“If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” – Dolly Parton

What is your superpower?
I can read minds.

Benjamin Lyman

Benjamin Lyman

University of Tennessee Knoxville | Freshmen | Education, Biology

What education policy or justice issue do you care about most and why?
I care about Roe v Wade and reproductive rights because women should have the ability to choose want they want to do with their own bodies.

What is a quote or saying you live by?
“A lot can happen in a year”

What is your superpower?
Resilience and Invincibility

Brea Hinds

Brea Hinds

University of Memphis | Junior | Teaching All Learners Major

What education policy or justice issue do you care about most and why?
I am focused on the School to Prison Pipeline because of how prevalent it is in urban education and how it leads to student disenfranchisement.With the eradication of this dangerous pipeline, students would be afforded more opportunities of holistic learning and resources to help them navigate their education and well-being.

What is a quote or saying you live by?
“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” – Shirley Chisholm

What is your superpower?
My superpower is creating a playlist for any occasion.

Diana Medina

Diana Medina

Middle Tennessee State University | Junior | Major Business Administration Minor Accounting

What education policy or justice issue do you care about most and why?
I am interested in the issue of standardized testing because it does not reflect the intelligence of students.

What is a quote or saying you live by?
Camarón que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente

What is your superpower?
Resilience

Elijah Watley

Elijah Watley

University of Tennessee Knoxville | Freshmen | Biomedical Engineering

What education policy or justice issue do you care about most and why?
I care about the cost of college, which is so absurd and large that many students (especially minorities) have to either take out a large amount of loans that they will then struggle to pay off, or decide not to pursue further education after high school because of the cost.

What is a quote or saying you live by?
There isn’t any shame in being weak, the shame is in staying weak.

What is your superpower?
Organization, dedication, discipline, strong-willed

Miracle Awonuga

Miracle Awonuga

Belmont University | Sophomore | Data Science with a minor of Video Production

What education policy or justice issue do you care about most and why?
Urban education is an education policy or justice issue I care about the most because education access has always been important, and this field has an interesting take on this matter.

What is a quote or saying you live by?
“Speak the truth even if your voice shakes.”

What is your superpower?
My superpower is the art of listening and understanding.

Riquera Smith

Riquera Smith

Belmont University | Senior | Elementary Education with a minor in communications

What education policy or justice issue do you care about most and why?
I care most about representation within schools and the classroom. As a person of color it is important to me that all races and cultures are represented and learned about in the classroom.

What is a quote or saying you live by?
“You are smart, you are kind, your are important.”

What is your superpower?
Being able to be there for others when they need a friend and to meet people where they are at.

Soziema Dauda

Soziema Dauda

Belmont University | Junior | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

What education policy or justice issue do you care about most and why?
Students from higher social class backgrounds have access to the resources they need for success while students from lower social classes are often not granted the same support. I care about this topic because I believe in educational equity for all students.

What is a quote or saying you live by?
“I’d rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I am not.” -Kurt Cobain

What is your superpower?
Being empathetic and open-minded

Vianney Muniz

Vianney Muniz

Belmont University | Junior | Social Work, Photography

What education policy or justice issue do you care about most and why?
I care about Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) because this program has allowed me to see the hurt the immigrant community is going through in fighting for citizenship and belonging.

What is a quote or saying you live by?
Positive Energy = Positive Thoughts

What is your superpower?
Being able to listen to others concerns and give them tools to help with their current worries.

Meet our Community of Practice

Communities in Schools Tennessee | www.cistn.org

Organization Bio
Communities in Schools of Tennessee (CIS-TN) is a part of the National Communities In Schools (CIS) network that was founded in 1977 and is known as the leading integrated student support model in the country.

CIS-TN began serving students in 2012 and has grown today to serving 40 schools with more than 19,000 students across the state—18 public and charter schools in Nashville and 23 public high schools located in fifteen rural Tennessee counties. We work to remove the non-academic barriers that prevent student success in the classroom. In partnership with the local school districts, we provide daily school-based interventions to students in grades K–12 to address academic failure, truancy, behavioral issues, social service needs and more.

Thrive Project Overview
CIS-TN will use Thrive funds to train our 23 site coordinators working in high schools in the most economically distressed counties in the state. Coordinators will learn about best practices for postsecondary coaching and provide multi-tiered support to help our low income, rural students understand the possibilities available to them and help them navigate a path forward.

FUTURO | http://futuroisnow.com/

Organization Bio
FUTURO is an inclusive college-success and professional-development organization that supports Latino students by promoting leadership, career-growth, and civic engagement. FUTURO was established in 2011 as an initiative of the Tennessee Latin American Chamber of Commerce and will celebrate its ten year anniversary. FUTURO addresses many of the identified barriers that affect student access and success including navigating the cultural nuances and lack of guidance, support, and representation. By focusing on career pathways, our model provides students with the capacity to aspire and form a strong cultural identity with leadership opportunities in industries that lack diversity and representation. We have supported hundreds of students who now serve as a positive influence and have become influential advocates for our work who encourage our students to persist.

Thrive Project Overview
Service-Learning is at the heart of what we do in FUTURO. Our members are part of a familia that supports one another as well as our communities. The near-peer project will recruit students across all active FUTURO Chapters to serve as mentors for high school students, providing them with direct access to Latino college students who can provide information on college access and tips on how to succeed in college. By meeting near peers who are role models, this project will provide a critical and culturally inclusive way to support high school students while building leadership skills in our current FUTURO members.

Walters State Community College | www.ws.edu/home

Organization Bio
Established in 1970, Walters State Community College (WSCC) is a comprehensive, higher education institution serving over 5,743 credit students within our service area, primarily in ten-counties throughout East Tennessee: Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Jefferson, Sevier, and Union. WSCC currently serves a student population with these characteristics: 64 percent female; 51 percent traditional age; 12 percent minority enrollment; 47 percent of incoming freshmen require remedial courses; and 41 percent are Pell-eligible.

Thrive Project Overview
Walters State Community College’s RHiTA Program (Recruiting Hispanics to Achieve) will partner with HOLA Lakeway, Niswonger Foundation, Sevier County Schools, Hamblen County Schools, and Equal Chance for Education to tackle post-secondary obstacles and create a welcoming environment for disadvantaged students, with a focus on our region’s growing Hispanic population. Additionally, we will defray some college costs for potential ECE scholars, promoting this outstanding scholarship opportunity in our ten-county, East Tennessee service area.

Centro Hispano | www.centrohispanotn.org

Organization Bio
Centro Hispano has served the greater Knoxville community for more than 15 years, providing a bridge, resource and gathering place for families of all backgrounds as they become an integral part of east Tennessee. We promote empowerment and civic participation through education, workforce development, youth and family engagement, and community-strengthening initiatives. Our vision is to see every Latino and Latina in East Tennessee thriving culturally, educationally and economically.

Thrive Project Overview
Centro Hispano will be recruiting and training Latino college students to act as near-peer mentors who will meet weekly with Latino high school students from the spring of their junior year through fall of their senior year. Together they will work through a curriculum to explore their post-secondary options, complete applications and financial aid, and celebrate their identity and unique aspirations.

Frayser Community Schools | fraysercs.org

Organization Bio
Frayser Community Schools is a neighborhood charter school network, based in Memphis, Tennessee. FCS currently operates three schools: MLK College Prep, Humes Middle, and Westside Middle. Our mission is to cultivate the gifts of each student, producing critical thinkers, upstanding citizens, and transformational leaders who are prepared for success in college, career, and in their community. We do this through advanced academic rigor, exposure to college and career opportunities, and a heavy focus on leadership and community.

Thrive Project Overview
Our project aims to increase access to college by utilizing one on one consultancies with high school students beginning in 9th grade. We will help students develop goals, action plans, and provide supports to ensure our students can overcome barriers to entering the world of higher education by planning from the first day of high school.

Meet the Thrive Team

Jamie Clinton

College Access Coordinator
jclinton@edtrust.org

Vilmaris Gonzalez

Senior Manager of Engagement and Operations
vgonzalez@edtrust.org