Students from Texas City, Hitchcock and La Marque High Schools learned the secrets of success at the College Boot Camp coordinated by College of the Mainland students in Phi Theta Kappa and the COM Amigos student club.

At the event faculty and staff from COM and San Jacinto College South shared tips about how to study, obtain financial aid and consider potential careers.

“I enjoyed the feeling of interaction between the students and the speakers,” said one high school participant. Another agreed, “It was informative and it made me think.”

COM students created the idea for the project, conducted research and planned and coordinated the event.
 
“We wanted to target something missing in the community. We decided education was one of the most important things,” said COM student and project chair Franklin Warner. “There were things we didn’t know going into college. We tried to teach them so that when [these students] go to college they can be more successful.”

Students in the COM Amigos club coordinated a roundtable discussion to share their experiences and hear high school students share their interests and plans.

“We told them our experiences about campus life and COM,” said Amigos secretary Raquel Balderas. “A lot of our discussion was about how completely different from high school college is.”

Students enjoyed that aspect of the boot camp.

“I liked the fact that it wasn’t just lectures,” one said.

The project was part of the Phi Theta Kappa chapter’s yearly Honors in Action Project, which is a requirement of Five Star Chapters. For the past several years COM’s Sigma Delta chapter of Phi Theta Kappa has earned the designation of Five Star Chapter, the organization’s highest level of recognition.

COM students are planning other times to share with high school students. COM Amigos recently visited three classes at Hitchcock High School to answer students’ questions about college life, requirements and scholarships.