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Steppers Prove Scholarly

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By LENORA LAKE

Tribune correspondent

Published: August 13, 2008

NORTH TAMPA - A sculpture, an original stepping routine and speeches led a team of students to victory as the overall winner in the Summer Creative Contest.

The winning team members are participants in the Brain Expansions Scholastic Training program of East Tampa. The teens and preteens are engaging in summer activities funded through KnowHow2Go - Tampa Bay, a program that emphasizes a series of steps students need to take to get into college.

At the contest Aug. 3 at Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School, the students demonstrated the steps to college through visual or performing arts. Only two of the 15 sites participated: the B.E.S.T. students and Connected by 25, a program for youth aging out of the foster care system.

Anh-Kay Pizano, project coordinator of Know How2Go, said the participation was less than the organizers had hoped. Some groups had closed for the summer, and some had other activities planned. Others aren't active groups but are resource information centers.
KnowHow2Go was funded for two years with grants of $125,000 per year from the Lumina Foundation and $65,000 per year from the Children's Board of Hillsborough County.

The two participating groups took the competition seriously.

The students in Connected by 25 wrote and performed a skit depicting a potential college student walking through the steps. Their efforts won the students backpacks and plaques.

The students from the B.E.S.T. program won iPods, basketballs and plaques for creating a maze sculpture showing the steps, stepping to a rap about preparing for college and giving original speeches on the topic.

B.E.S.T. program coordinator Olivia McAnuff said the students got more than their awards and gifts.

"This opened up the idea that you can accomplish your dream," McAnuff said.

COLLEGE PREP

The four steps to college from KnowHow2Go - Tampa Bay:

1. Find someone to help.

2. Push yourself.

3. Find the right fit.

4. Put your hands on some cash.

Correspondent Lenora Lake can be reached at (813) 865-4851 or llake@tampatrib.com.

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