“Struggle,” declared Treneé McGee, “means to feel unsure, to feel like you are stuck.”
For her and her 24 classmates from a first-ever group of graduates from an experimental program with a community college and a city public high school, the fight has proved worth it.
“The storm is over now,” she went on. “I am success, and success is who I am.”
McGee, 17, spoke Monday evening at the commencement ceremony for the first-ever graduating class of Gateway Community College’s Middle College Initiative. The celebration took place at Gateway’s Long Wharf campus and included speeches by Dorsey L. Kendrick, the college’s president, and Reginald Mayo, superintendent for New Haven’s public school district. In attendance were family members of the 25 students from the Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School, Gateway’s partner in in the program.
As part of the Middle College Initiative, high-school students take college-level classes throughout their four years at Coop. They graduate with up to 30 college credits.
The program targets middle-achieving students and demands great commitment from its participants, who attend college classes in the summer and during the afternoon.
After completing the program, students who attend colleges affiliated with the initiative can begin their university careers as sophomores. The initiative began at the Coop; with the help of money from private foundations it is set to expand to Hillhouse High School and New Haven Academy this summer.
Peter Herndon, who serves as the initiative’s college-high school liaison, called the first generation of the program a success.
“We started out four years ago with 25 students,” he said, “and we finished with 25 students, all of whom are going to college. I’m a retired New Haven public school teacher, and it has been immensely rewarding to see these kids prove to us all that a middle-achieving student can exceed all expectations when given the right support.”
15 Years Down The Line
The students in the Middle College Initiative were in festive spirits Monday, saying that they felt “accomplished,” “relaxed,” and “excited for the future.”
Robert Durant III, 18, is described by his classmates as a future politician whose “face is going to be everywhere.” In the fall, he will attend the University of New Haven, pursuing a degree in criminal justice. During his high school career, Durant went to Africa as a missionary and worked for UniteHere’s union local 34 and 35 at Yale.
“I got interested in local politics after taking a political science class here at Gateway,” he said. “That made me want to be involved in my community.”
In the future, Durant sees himself working in New Haven, either in law enforcement or in politics.
Nicolás Medina Mora Pérez Photo
Mary Inge goes through her sheet music one last time before her comencement performance.
Mary Inge (pictured), 17, played a beautiful piece of classical music on her violin at the end of the ceremony. She is set to attend Smith College, where she will study psychology.
“The best part was getting to know each other,” she said, surrounded by a group of friends who kept on finishing each other’s sentences.
Traneé McGee (pictured with her father), who read her monologue “Struggle” during the ceremony, said that she wants to eventually own and manage a film production company. The Steven Spielberg fan is headed for Marymount Manhattan College, where she will study acting, directing, and screen-writing.
“It takes a village to raise a child,” she said, “and Gateway has become a very important part of my village.”
José Teneo, 17, emigrated with his family from the Dominican Republic four and a half years ago. Once in New Haven, José struggled with the language barrier that separated him, a native Spanish speaker, from his English-speaking classmates.
“At first,” he said in Spanish,” it was difficult to adapt to a new culture, but I wasn’t going to let that become an obstacle.”
Teneo will attend the University of Connecticut, were he will study computer science and graphic design. He said that the greatest lesson he takes from his experience with the Middle College Initiative is that hard work is the only way forward.
“In this world,” he said, “nobody will give you anything for free.”
The ceremony closed with a rendition of “Encourage Yourself.” Click on the play arrow at the top of this story to hear Coop’s own Jasmine Right’s version of the gospel classic.