School is out for summer, but students were as busy as ever at Dallas Episcopal School on Monday morning for the first day of the Brewer Foundation’s Future Leaders Program’s annual summer camp.
The program, designed to help Dallas Independent School District students prepare for college, launched a new summer curriculum focused on mental health in response to student anxieties about both applying to and attending college.
Current FLP intern Erica Salazar, who participated in the FLP program before enrolling at Northwestern, said the program’s support helped her transition to college. Now, she’s excited that current students have a structured curriculum that teaches coping strategies, emotion regulation and self-reliance.
“These incoming high school seniors … are already stressed about college. They’re already thinking about where they’re going to go, their finances and they’re just stressed,” he said. [and] “It’s mentally exhausting,” she said.
The program prioritizes first-generation and low-income students who excel academically, said FLP Director Rosie de la Garza. First-generation and low-income students face unique obstacles in both applying to and attending college, Salazar said, and often must overcome economic and social barriers amid fewer resources and a lack of more systemic support.
Now in its 23rd year, the program primarily serves students in South Dallas, West Dallas and Oak Cliff. Partners include the Dallas School District, Dallas Episcopal School, Hockaday School, Greenhill School and Texas St. Mark’s School.
FLP’s new curriculum, “Rise & Thrive: Building Mental Resilience for College Success and Beyond,” will be taught by Myra Salinas-Gozzi, an FLP alumna and first-generation college student who graduated from the program in 2010. Salinas-Gozzi’s course planning began after 36 FLP students took a trip to New York City in early May.
Students on the trip explored the Northeast and became familiar with new urban landscapes, visited and sight-seeed at universities such as Yale and Fordham, and supported their peers in discussions at the International Public Policy Forum, an annual event hosted by the Brewer Foundation and New York University. While the trip gave students new experiences and insights, some students told FLP leaders they felt uneasy being so far from home and realized they needed more support.
“There were times when I felt overwhelmed being in New York and being in this really fast-paced place,” said Anaya Martinez, 17, a senior at FLP. “I wasn’t used to it and I didn’t really know how to deal with it.”
“I was all alone,” she added. “My parents were not there, my mother was not there. How am I supposed to deal with my mental state when the people I love the most are not around?”
Salinas Godsey’s course aims to teach students just that. At the beginning of the session, she asked them to write out their own definitions of mental health and mental wellness on brightly colored index cards spread out on a table. Students wrote down various interpretations, and Salinas Godsey asked for volunteers to share. Several hands went up.
One student said that for her, “mental health is how you respond to different situations and all the emotions that come up along the way.”
Another respondent said that mental wellness means “the ability to manage and improve one’s mental health, and being aware of some of the steps to make this happen.”
De la Garza said FLP’s shift in focus to mental health is also intended to fill an emotional gap that arises when students don’t have discussions about mental health at home.
“When you get to college, no one’s going to help you, so you have to figure it out on your own,” she says. “So what does that look like? How do you know when you’re starting to become overwhelmed? And what tools should you have in place to prepare for those situations?”
Potential tools include emotional intelligence, active listening, self-awareness, decision-making and intentional mental wellness, according to Salinas Godsey’s class.
“Combining these, we’re going to put all of these into practice to help with your personal growth and professional development,” she said. “These skills are all interconnected, right? It supports you as a person. It helps you grow as a leader, as a student, and beyond.”
Salinas Godsey said going to college can be difficult for first-generation, low-income students, but the FLP support system will continue to be a resource even after students graduate.
“Like most of you, I’m first or second generation,” she said. “We’re pioneers for our family. We’re doing something they’ve never experienced before. It’s a little scary.”
Salazar advises his peers to be kind to themselves.
“I know a lot of these students are high achievers, like at the top of their class, and they’re doing their best, but when they get to college, things are totally different,” Salazar said. “If you’re doing your best and for whatever reason you hit a little roadblock, it’s okay. It’s okay to be stressed, it’s okay to not be okay. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
