Last month, Eloquence Academy hosted two mentorship workshops for 100 high school juniors and seniors at Take Stock in Children of Manatee County, Florida (TSIC). The program was an extension of our previous workshops that we hosted for Take Stock in Children of Broward County in March of 2024.

Founded in 1995, TSIC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization utilizing education to help socioeconomically disadvantaged and at-risk students escape the vicious cycles of poverty. TSIC serves over 8,000 students, each of whom maintain an unweighted GPA over 2.8, qualify for government aid programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and have a total household income of less than $71,050 per year. All students receive a volunteer mentor, college success coach, need-based scholarship, and college transition and retention assistance.

While Eloquence Academy is a debate organization, we ultimately aim to prepare our students for college readiness, career engagement, and community impact. To this end, both workshops explored key ideas in the college application process: visiting and touring institutions, determining personal priorities and assessing fit, developing a balanced application list, understanding academic programs, utilizing the QuestBridge National College Match, and applying for both need-based and merit-based financial aid. Students worked with Mansi Arora, Director of Finance & Human Resources, and Kira Waldhalm, Director of the Charitable Fund. Mansi and Kira attended the University of Florida and Middlebury College respectively, allowing students to form relationships and ask personalized questions to older mentors.

Based on responses collected by TSIC through their post-program survey, the results were energizing. 92% of students matriculated to a post-secondary institution, 73% intend to complete their degree, and 97% graduated from high school with an average GPA of 3.48—an 0.68 point improvement. As one participant wrote, “you did a great job! I would love to meet with Kira again.”

We are grateful to the TSIC team and Partnerships Program Coordinators Michael Higley and Densie McGirr and are proud of what their students accomplished.

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Eloquence Academy, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and 509(a)(2) public charity dedicated to increasing equitable academic debate opportunities for rural and historically underserved students. The Academy offers debate classes, summer camps, workshops, tournaments, in-school programs, and online resources for 2,500+ students across 35 states and 17 countries. Ultimately, Eloquence Academy aims to prepare youth for college readiness, career engagement, and community impact through the transferable skills gained from debate. Follow Eloquence Academy on Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.