GSBS launches "G-Force" to mentor high school students
 A new student-led group called the "G-Force" will mentor Fort Worth high school students from Northside and Dunbar high schools, thanks to the Office of Outreach in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and a grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Only 5 percent of Texas ' population is currently enrolled in higher education institutions, according to the coordinating board. As participation in higher education decreases, so will annual household income, by an estimated $30 to $40 billion by 2030. To encourage 300,000 additional students to pursue higher education, particularly Hispanics, African-Americans and those from low-income families, the coordinating board developed a program called "Closing the Gaps." Its aim is to help parents and students understand the importance of higher education and how to prepare for it academically and financially.
 Project
GO comprises the university-based G-Force and the GO Centers
located in local high schools. The G-Force, made up of university
students and college-bound high school students, will mentor
middle and high school students and help them develop future
educational plans, said Robert Kaman, JD, PhD, director of outreach
and associate dean of the graduate school (picture at right).
"We are the only health science center in Texas to have a GO Center," Dr. Kaman said. "This is further evidence of our leadership in reaching out to minority students. In fact, we have received almost $7 million in training funds for minority outreach."
The health science center will start a GO Center in each high school, where graduate students will mentor high school students, who will in turn mentor children in middle school, Dr. Kaman said. The project will focus on first-generation college students, especially African Americans and Hispanics.
The program will be launched this semester and will last until June 2005. The goal is to have 10 students participate so the G-Force can be recognized as an official university organization, Dr. Kaman said.
"We are blessed with students who, despite their busy schedules, are committed to reaching out to students who are in the same place they were," Dr. Kaman said. "Students who visit our campus are more excited about going to college and graduate school than those who don't. Seeing a university 'live' can help motivate students to pursue higher education."
For more information about the program, visit www.gocenter.info.
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