EDTalks: How PSEO is a Game-Changer for High School Students

EDTalksMN

This EDTalks is titled “How PSEO is a Game-Changer for High School Students” Our featured speakers are Asiya Browne and Zeke Jackson. Asiya Browne is a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, where she’s studying sociology of law, criminology and deviance, and Asian and Middle Eastern studies with a focus in Arabic. She serves on the board of People for PSEO, where she works to connect more students to PSEO through outreach and policy work. Zeke Jackson is a junior at the University of Minnesota, majoring in finance and political science. He serves as executive director of People for PSEO, working hard to inform families about PSEO, lower barriers to PSEO enrollment, advocate for strong PSEO policies and build a statewide PSEO community. As high school students, Asiya and Zeke participated in PSEO, taking college classes and earning credit at no cost. Now both are University of Minnesota students and leaders in People for PSEO, a nonprofit that works to increase visibility about the many benefits of PSEO and increase participation, particularly by students of color. Asiya and Zeke believe that PSEO is a powerful tool that can help break cycles of poverty, close education disparity gaps and reduce student debt. They will share their personal experiences of PSEO, how the program helped them find their voice and become more confident advocates, and the importance of lowering barriers to access PSEO and ensure that students succeed while they are in the program. This virtual EDTalk was live streamed online on January 20th, 2022. EDTalks is presented by AchieveMpls in partnership with the Citizens League, with generous support from the Bush Foundation. Learn more at www.achievempls.org/edtalks or follow us on Twitter at #EDTalksMN​.