Bright Futures recently celebrated the 10-year milestone of their founding and helping first-generation students make their way through their higher-education journey.The group held a gathering to celebrate in the home of founder Tommy Tanzer, bringing many community members and Bright Futures alumni together for the achievement.“The event was terrific. It was well attended,” said Tanzer. “It was just happiness. It wasn’t a fundraiser. It was really saying thank you to the 10 years of the people who started the program and then to the new people who are taking the program from here and running into the future.”The Bright Futures Program, which is a program of the Park City Education Foundation, is designed to support first-generation students — the first in their families to pursue higher education. “We walk alongside them as they work extremely hard to achieve their dream of a college education or a secondary education, whatever that may be,” said Jennifer Billow, vice president of advancement at the Park City Education Foundation.The foundation partners closely with the Park City School District. Many of its signature initiatives, like the Bright Futures program, are designed to support and complement the work being done within the district. “Because of all the privacy laws in schools, it’s really hard for what I would call outsiders — and I’m even saying parents here — to do things within the school structure,” Billow said. “You really have to be part of the school district, and that is where we come in, because we are part of the school district. That helps open doors that might not otherwise be opened.”Billow explained that over the years they have refined the Bright Futures program to meet the needs of its students. An issue that was identified was that once students graduated high school and entered higher education, they were faced with new challenges and ultimately didn’t have the same support system that they once had while in the program. “The statistic nationwide is that only 11% of first generation students make it through college,” said Billow. “We wanted to change that statistic in Park City, and especially because so much of our first-gen families are the families that are really making this town run.” The Bright Futures program has evolved to focus not just on getting kids into college, but also on supporting them through graduation. In addition to providing academic support in high school, the program offers ongoing mentoring, financial assistance, and guidance to students once they reach college.Tanzer explained that when students enter the Bright Futures program, they establish “crews” — groups of students that change over time as they get closer to graduation — with the goal of grouping students who will be attending the same schools.These crews create a peer support system and provide a more immediate network of support as students transition into their higher education experience. “The program has grown to the point where we now have two full-time staff members who are dedicated almost entirely to Bright Futures,” Billow said. “One in high school and one in college.” The student participation in schools has also grown. Since its origin, the program has grown from its first class of 20 students to now having 80 high school students and 65 in college.“We’re up to 12 or 13 college graduates,” Billow said. “Some have even come back into town. For instance, one is working for the Summit County Health Department. But that was the idea — supporting students who are motivated, dedicated and hardworking. They’re doing all the work, and if we can support them with finances, budgeting, FAFSA, choosing a major or pointing them to scholarships, we’re there to help because the parent equation is difficult when you’re a first-generation student.”Billow added that during the COVID pandemic, according to statistics from the Community Foundation, 90% of parents in the community of first generation students lost their jobs. As a result, students faced a difficult choice: help their parents pay rent or pursue a college education. “The team worked extremely hard to keep those students in college, despite the significant challenges they faced,” she said. “COVID taught us, you just don’t know what could be thrown at you. And the resilience of these students of making making their college dream continue to happen, to see it was inspiring to say the least.”To learn more about the Bright Futures program, visit their page on the Park City Education Foundation website at pcef4kids.org/programs/bright-futures.html.The post Bright Futures helps first generation students find success in education appeared first on Park Record.