Manchester University hosted more than 250 Wabash County students on Thursday, Oct. 3 for the 11th-annual “Imagine My Future” event.
Press release credit to the Community Foundation of Wabash County.
Manchester University hosted more than 250 Wabash County students on Thursday, Oct. 3 for the 11th-annual “Imagine My Future” event (formerly known as “Walk into My Future”).
A joint effort of the University, the Wabash County YMCA, and the Community Foundation of Wabash County, this huge fall event is designed to help students imagine a bright future for themselves at an early age and increase their awareness of educational opportunities beyond high school.
Third grade students from Sharp Creek Elementary School, Southwood Elementary School, Manchester Elementary School, and St. Bernard Catholic School visited a series of stations on the Manchester University mall that were run by campus or community groups. Stations included the MU baseball and track and field teams promoting careers requiring physical fitness, music students demonstrating the use of musical instruments in musical careers, and chemistry students celebrating science careers by showing a variety of chemical reactions. After completing their station rotations, students heard brief remarks from Dr. Stacy Young, president of Manchester University, and from Frank Roth and Emilee Manns, Manchester University students. All of these experiences aim to influence students’ identity and help them grow up believing they can pursue future education and achieve a fulfilling career.
Imagine My Future fell in the middle of the three-week open enrollment period for Imagine Early, Wabash County’s early scholarship program. Imagine Early promotes a college bound identity in young Wabash County students by helping preschool-8th graders accumulate assets to pay for post-secondary training or college. Students who sign up for this free program can earn up to $1,500 in early award scholarships and savings matches funds by completing in-class learning assignments and career or college going activities, and by depositing money into their Indiana529 Direct savings accounts.
Imagine Early is administered by the Community Foundation of Wabash County and the Wabash County YMCA. For more information about Imagine Early or to enroll, visit imagine-early.org. To learn more about Manchester University, visit manchester.edu.