A group of Linfield College students and staff were on hand to answer questions about higher education when they attended College Day at Alder Elementary School in Portland.
Linfield joined other Portland-area college representatives at the elementary school for the day. Michael Reyes Andrillon, director of multicultural programs, Portland Campus; Araceli Ortiz, financial aid outreach counselor, Portland Campus; Dan Preston, vice president for enrollment management; and students Ines Pena and Abby Bravo attended College Day.
Alder Elementary School, the second highest school in Oregon for poverty, was adopted by the Oregon chapter of “I Have a Dream,” and the project will give Alder Elementary students the support necessary to graduate from college. Hundreds of students, including more than 100 children without homes, will be tracked for the next 15 years.
Paz Ramos, a 1984 Linfield graduate and former Alder Elementary principal, has been instrumental in instilling a culture of college into students. In addition to events like College Day, the school has lined a “Hall of Dreams” with college pennants and hung college banners from the gym ceiling. Linfield has committed to a long-term relationship with Alder Elementary, adopting the fourth grade class, and an Alder class will come to Linfield for a campus visit in June.
