Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
UK Tomorrow Corps: Reflections on a summer in service to Eastern Kentucky youth.
Session Abstract or Summary
Collaborating with community members, Family Resource & Youth Service Centers, and libraries in Appalachian Kentucky; The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center has developed and fully launched a new community service oriented program promoting educational attainment and K-12 mentoring in Eastern Kentucky. The UK Tomorrow Corps engages and prepares University students to support the educational needs of K-12 students in the region who increasingly are being supported by grandparents or other family members. The UK Appalachian Center has drawn on the skills of the students from across the University to support the well-being of children, who are the region’s future. The UK Tomorrow Corps program provides summer employment and professional support for UK students tutoring K-12 students in math and literacy and has helped young Appalachians retain and gain skills through these one on one interactions. This panel will reflect on the implementation and impact of the program as well as the experiences of four UK students involved in the first cohort to serve the region in this capacity.
Presentation #1 Title
UK Tomorrow Corps
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
UK Tomorrow Corps director will reflect on the creation, implementation and broad impacts of the program's first year. He will be joined by four students who participated in the first cohort of UK students involved in the program. Each student will reflect on both personal and professional impacts that resulted from their participation in the program.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Shane Barton, the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center Assistant Director, and director the UK Tomorrow Corps – a program modeled by his own VISTA experience that places students throughout the 54 county Appalachian region of Kentucky to conduct tutoring in partnership with local libraries and local family resource & youth service center staff. He has presented collaborative work on community/university engagement and development strategies at national and international conferences, coedits the Coal Camp Documentary Project, coauthored a recent article on “materializing Appalachian Kentucky coal towns” and serves as the board president for the nonprofit Appalachia-Science in the Public Interest.
UK Tomorrow Corps
UK Tomorrow Corps director will reflect on the creation, implementation and broad impacts of the program's first year. He will be joined by four students who participated in the first cohort of UK students involved in the program. Each student will reflect on both personal and professional impacts that resulted from their participation in the program.
