Every child can rise

As president of ​ (HCZ), a world-renowned education and poverty-fighting organization based in New York City, Canada has made it his life’s work to help young people from under-resourced communities succeed. , HCZ now serves more than 34,000 students and families living in a 97-block area of Central Harlem in New York City.

Growing up in an impoverished south Bronx neighborhood, Canada said he has seen firsthand the result of young people not receiving quality education.

“It’s life and death,” he said. “My mother had four sons, but only three made it. At 72-years-old, not one of my friends I grew up with is alive today,” said Canada. “It means the ability to take care of your family or fall into a black hole that sucks you in and destroys lives.”

Canada’s keynote speech was a commentary on the state-of-affairs in education and a rally cry to educators to change their perspective on what it means to stand up for every child.

Aftermath of COVID-19

Today’s educators, schools and students face daunting challenges, many exacerbated by the upheaval and trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Learning loss is real, and many kids have not caught up academically and never will unless we do something,” said Canada. “We may think things have returned to normal, but our children have not recovered. What we are doing is passing along a whole generation of kids who don’t have the ability to be college ready.”

Canada said that makes it more important than ever to offer programs like UofL’s newly launched , which reaches out to youth in middle and high school to equip and nurture them with essential skills, mentoring, supports and networks they need to be ready for the higher education experience and success in life.

“We need to give these young people just a sniff of the American dream so they can believe there is a way for them to make it,” he said.

Through his hard work with the Harlem Children’s Zone, Canada’s efforts have resulted in placement of nearly 1,000 kids in college – kids who never thought college could be part of their future. Canada said changing expectations is key to shifting that culture from believing college is not for them to believing college is definitely for them.

“When 1,000 kids come home in the summer from college, they see people they know and start to think, ‘If he can go to college, I could go to college.’ It becomes normal,” Canada explained.

Thinking creatively  

Although Canada attended one of the worst schools in the nation as a child, he said unfortunately not much has changed.

“If you go in those schools today, they start and end at the same time, and kids are taught the same way, even though we know that for 60 years, it hasn’t worked,” he said. “We must do different things.”

In an effort to lead change, Canada created a charter school in Harlem where there are after-school supports until 7 p.m. Saturday school also is available throughout the year for struggling kids. These efforts, he said, have yielded considerable progress in closing achievement gaps in math and reading.

“Why do we think we can teach the same way to everyone? What are the diverse ways we can save these young people? We can save some kids through academics, or athletics, or art, or mental health or physical health, or parents, grandparents or siblings,” he said.

For university educators, Canada believes they, too, need to continue figuring out what is working and what is not, especially for young people with little exposure to college.

“These are complicated times, but our mission cannot change, and we cannot sit on the sidelines,” said Canada. “We have to take a stand.”

“I was from a very rural county. I was not prepared when I got to college to become a successful applicant for medical school,” Castaneda said. “I didn’t know a lot about when to shadow, when to volunteer or when to apply to medical school.”

High school and undergraduate students interested in health professions visited the UofL Health Sciences Center campus Feb. 10 to learn about career and educational opportunities, tour the Schools of Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing and Public Health & Information Sciences, and meet with advisers and potential mentors. Representatives from the four HSC schools were on hand to discuss with students the skills needed to navigate the road to higher education in the health sciences.

Hannah Granholm, a high school sophomore from Louisville, attended the symposium to learn more about becoming a nurse practitioner. “I learned that a nurse practitioner does more than just give people shots and medicine. They do a lot more, and it takes a lot of work to do it,” Granholm said.

Glenda Granholm, Hannah’s mother, encouraged Hannah to attend. “I thought she could get exposure to different fields and could talk to people who know the field. That way she’ll be more comfortable asking questions.”

Vivian Doyle, a second-year UofL medical student, took a group of the students on a tour of the School of Medicine. She said a mentor provides essential support for students aspiring to careers in medicine, dentistry or graduate studies.

“It’s definitely important to find mentors – a physician, a medical student or an upper classman. That way, if you do get nervous or you have your doubts, you can go to your mentor and ask advice,” Doyle said.

Barbara Ekeh, another second-year medical student, said the event also provided an opportunity to learn about the lesser-known careers in health care, such as public health, graduate studies or dentistry.

“There are so many avenues in medicine and some are more visible than others. One student was asking, ‘What is public health?’ I didn’t know what that was until I was in college. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming.” Ekeh said. “This is an avenue where they can meet other students to try and figure out what they are interested in doing.”

The event also allowed the students to connect with advisers and faculty members who could help them along in the process. Ashley O’Neil, a program coordinator in the UofL HSC Office of Diversity and Inclusion, helps students determine the best fit and guides them through the application process.

“There are people like me who will help you figure out your path and what it is going to take for you to succeed. I’m here to help in your journey with shadowing, clinical work, understanding the MCAT and its whole process, and the application itself,” O’Neil said.

Alona Pack, MSN, MA, RN, assistant professor in the UofL School of Nursing, said student organizations also can be important resources for the students.

“We have support systems for minority students here, particularly the Black Student Nurses Association. They provide mentorship and academic support to the students. They also do community outreach and develop leadership skills. It’s a good network for the students.”

The Student National Medical Association, Student National Dental Association, Health and Social Justice Scholars, Black Student Nurses Association, and the UofL Health Sciences Center Office of Diversity and Inclusion hosted the program, attended by 85 high school and undergraduate college students. The event was funded by the UofL Student Government Association Club Programming Committee and the UofL Commission of Diversity and Racial Equality.

Castaneda said events such as the symposium can help students connect with other programs and student organizations, which he found helpful. Castaneda attended the Professional ������Ƶ Preparation Program prior to college, and joined the Multicultural Association of Pre-Medical Students once he arrived on campus.

“PEPP particularly got me up to speed and it made me feel a lot more comfortable when I got to college. I just kept doing the programs. They give you more exposure to the field. They let you meet great people and they help you along the process.”

See the photo gallery from the event . For more information on mentoring programs, visit the .

According to Angelique Johnson, an African American female researcher who received one of those grants for a flexible cochlear implant that could help deaf people hear, being a minority can be a hurdle for obtaining private investments.

“People aren’t familiar with us,” she said.

UofL is trying to change that by applying for a federal grant and implementing a new program to provide mentoring and help for minority and women faculty to try and get their research discoveries to market.

“Part of the problem, just as with anything else in society, is you need role models, you need mentors. You need to look out there and see somebody that looks like you, somebody to emulate, somebody that will teach you. We’re trying to create that next generation,” said William Pierce, UofL’s Executive Vice President of Research and Innovation.

See more about UofL’s goal to “create that next generation” of women and minority researchers in the video below.