Delaware Futures helps underprivileged attend college

For 21 underprivileged students, graduation from the Delaware Futures program helped secure their hopes of one day being able to attend college.

Delaware Futures is an after-school program that aims to empower economically disadvantaged youth and prepare them for college. The program focuses on academic enrichment, group meetings on topics such as problem-solving and teamwork skills, community service and one-on-one counseling so students can apply those skills in high school. The organization meets twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday, from 6 to 8 p.m.

“For me, the most gratifying experience is looking at the students in the present moment not only as a graduate of the Delaware Futures program, but as a graduate of their high school, beating the odds and the statistics that are out there in terms of high school dropout rates,”  said Evette Houston, executive director of the Delaware Futures organization.

Delaware Futures is based in Wilmington, which is plagued by high crime, drug activity and increasing gun violence among teens. Over 50 percent of the youth participating in the program are from Wilmington, Houston said, and she feels the program offers a safe haven for them.

“I’m one of every student I serve,” Houston said. “I grew up in an environment of crimes and drugs, and I was raised in the projects, and I only had one person who wasn’t a family member tell me I could do better and I could do more, and I had the nerve to believe them. And here I am today.

"Each one of these students is me.”

It’s helping young children get off the streets and become serious about their education that Houston believes is paramount.

Weeks ahead of another milestone for the graduates – their high school graduation – the group gathered at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1502 W. 13th St., on Thursday  for a celebratory event. The banquet-style ceremony offered Houston, much like a high school principal, time to reflect on the growth of her students over the last four years.

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The program has netted a notable success rate, with 88 percent of graduates going on to college while the other 12 percent join the armed forces.

Delaware Futures has been in existence for more than 22 years. Most students are introduced to the program by Natalie Payne, senior class adviser and program manager for Delaware Futures, who visits schools in the New Castle County and Wilmington area every year to present information about the four-year commitment.

This past school year, Payne visited 17 out of 20 New Castle County schools and presented to over 800 students with 600 signing up for the program. The organization now accepts 25 students per year, up from 16.

Recruitment starts in the summer after students complete the eighth grade, and Payne said students interested in the program should speak with their school guidance counselor.

“To see all of these students succeed together and to see the smiles on these students' faces and their dedication to four years of our program ... that is the best part of the night,” Payne said.

College isn’t on the minds of most eighth-graders preparing to enter high school, but Munzer Suliman, 18, a senior at William Penn High School, always knew he wanted to attend Delaware Futures.

Four years ago he watched a presentation and said he immediately felt the program would be a great opportunity to help him fulfill his goal of a collegiate career. Now, Suliman is preparing to attend the University of Delaware in the fall as a biochemistry major with a focus in pre-med.

“My goal after the University of Delaware is to get accepted into medical school and become a doctor,” Suliman said.

Suliman credits the program for giving him the networking resources he felt he needed to succeed.

“The program gave us SAT-prep," Suliman said. "They paid for applications into college. They gave us community service opportunities, and they helped us secure amazing internships.”

Tiyree Cooper, 18, of Mount Pleasant High School, will likely be attending Delaware Technical Community College in the fall to pursue advertisement marketing. He recalled the success his older brother had with the program as motivation for joining himself.

“It made more sense to go into Delaware Futures than to try and do it by myself.”

Jasmine Breece, 18, of A.I. duPont High School, much like Cooper was influenced by past family members’ experience with the program. Breece, who plans to attend Ithaca College in the fall to pursue veterinary medicine in hopes of becoming a zoo veterinarian, believes the program is influential in helping young teens see their full potential.

“In so many different ways, Delaware Futures caters to your needs and who you are [as a person],” Breece said of the program. “Things are possible, and you don’t have to change what you like and change who you are to achieve your goals.”

Teron Brooker-Parquet, 19, is a 2015 graduate of the program and Howard High School. He now plays college football as a defensive tackle for Greensboro College. He credits the program for keeping him focused on his academics and post-high school plans. While not from Wilmington, Brooker-Parquet said he saw how easy it was to be steered down the wrong path and insists that's why the program is so beneficial to teens in the area.

"Seeing what goes on now, Delaware Futures provides students with a gateway to take their mind away from all of the negativity surrounding the city," Brooker-Parquet said. "It also keeps students out of trouble and keeping students out of trouble should be the main goal for any academic program."

Contact Alonzo Small at (302) 324-2856 or asmall@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @P_AlonzoSmall.