Those who think the Huntsman Center is loud during basketball games should have been there Thursday, when 1,500 screaming sixth-graders filled the stands as part of this year’s installment of Project Youth.
The program, a yearly event on campus since 1988, brings sixth-graders to the U for a day to encourage them to go to college.
During the hour spent in the Huntsman Center, the elementary students heard about the importance of education from current U students and keynote speaker Nadine Wimmer of KSL.
“The point is work hard, broaden your horizons, open your eyes and help others,” said next year’s senior class president and first-generation college student Lissy Largin. “The beautiful thing about education is that it opens doors that wouldn’t be open otherwise.”
The majority of sixth-graders involved with the project come from Title I schools, where more than 50 percent of the student body gets subsidized lunches. Many would be first-generation college students and U students who spoke were chosen because they could relate.
“It’s up to you,” Wimmer said. “It’s not too early to start thinking about what you want to do.”
Besides the rally, elementary students also attended two different professor and student presentations, which ranged from modern dance to chemistry.
“I want to go to college,” shouted one excited sixth-grader during a physics presentation.
This year, all of the presentations focused on the more academic aspects of college life.
“We tried to have a bigger emphasis on education rather than just having fun,” said Power Rally Coordinator Barbara Spencer.
However, that didn’t stop the elementary students from having fun as they ran around campus, frequently commenting on how big the campus is.
“I really had fun,” said sixth-grader Russhelle Turner of Arcadia Elementary. “I can’t wait to go to college.”
Between 150 and 200 U students volunteered to help with the project, most of whom were taking the elementary students to various presentations around campus and helping supervise them while in the Huntsman Center.
“I hope what I showed the kids was that they can go to college if they believe in themselves,” volunteer Chad Wahlquist said after watching 25 students for four hours.
Teachers from the elementary schools said they thought that Project Youth went smoothly this year.
“I thought it went well,” said Arcadia Elementary teacher Daniel Boone. “We had a lot of positive thoughts from the kids.”
In fact, Arcadia Elementary student Megan Pullman, who wants to be a veterinarian, said she was ready for college by the end of the day. “I feel really excited to go to college,” she said.