Program helps students find their greatness
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> High school can be hard.
It can be stressful, cliquey, filled with the pressures of a new workload and peers, overwhelming, and, at times, intimidating.
It is a time, when while many young people are still trying to find their voice and figure out who they are today, they are expected to figure out where they’re going in life and what their goals for the future are. High school can be hard. For the last five years, Ashley Knox has been working with students to help them find them find their voice, their path and the “greatness” within themselves.
Knox is the founder of Go Beyond Greatness Inc., a college and career readiness program designed to empower participants to develop the skills the need to succeed in the 21st century.
“Our mission is to inspire students to bring out the greatness within themselves so that they can achieve and exceed their highest potential when it comes to attaining academic achievement and success,” said Knox.
Over the past few years, Knox said she and Go Beyond Greatness Inc., has partnered with the Kingston City school district on a number of youth development and student empowerment programs for students ranging from elementary school to high school.
Knox, who is the coordinator for Academic Civic &
Global Engagement at Iona College said that through her professional career she found that students entering the secondary educational system are uncertain about their career path or ill-prepared to embark on a program of higher education.
“We’re seeing more and more students because of the pressures around them
and environmental risk factors like the increase in opioids, emotional imbalances, social media pressure, we’re seeing … a lot of students dropping out,” she said.
Even those who do stay in college, she said, are often underprepared for today’s workforce.
Go Beyond Greatness, she said, is intended to provide a level of support that schools often can’t offer, working with students as adolescents so that by the time they graduate high school “there is no question as to
the pathway they are going to take to be fully functioning as a happy adult.”
“We’re the ones in the gap,” Knox said. “We provide a smooth transition from elementary school to middle school, from middle school to high school and high school to a career pathway.”
It’s signature program, “Build Your Brand,” is designed to train youth to identify what they want out of life and learn how to make the changes they need to become more marketable
and professional, leading to new opportunities that support their future success within college and career environments.
This year, Knox has brought the Build Your Brand program to Ellenville High School, where, through a series of workshops and field trips participants will learn how to take control over their life success by learning how to develop their character and skills in a way that makes them more confident in themselves and more marketable
to employers.
Among the areas the program focuses, Knox said, is helping students take control of their reputation, speaking professionally and confidently, understanding what messages their body language sends and building a professional network.
Participants will also tour the SUNY Ulster campus, where they will be introduced to the environmental and computer science programs offered there, attend a panel discussion on the future of environmental green jobs, visit the Kingston Tech Industry Co. where they can learn about the future of tech and digital marketing jobs in area, attend a mock network mixer of the Young Ulster Professionals of the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce, and visit the United Nations in New York City.