2012 Dates Established!

Here at X-Mester Central, we were thrilled last week when Dan McFeely, who covers higher education for the Indianapolis Star, and Alan Petersime, an Indy Star photographer, came to Vincennes University to learn more about X-Mester and the Early College High School model.

And we were excited to wake up today and see the piece featured prominently on the newspaper’s website. Here’s the introduction.

Don’t ask Diamond Thompson what she plans to do when she earns her college degree. She doesn’t know yet.

For her, earning a degree is all about landing a good job, whatever that turns out to be. It’s about wearing the business suit. Carrying the briefcase. Maintaining the image of a professional.

“I want to have a job that is respected, one that people know I worked hard to get there,” said Diamond, who is 16 and a junior at Tech High School. “I’m just not sure what I am going to do yet.”

Diamond is sure about one thing, though: She will go to college.

In fact, she’s already there.

For the whole story, please visit IndyStar.com.

Scholars at X-Mester have been exploring well beyond the usual academically now for more than a week, but that search is not limited to the classroom.

There have been bathtub races, dancing, foreign films, photography instruction, X-Games and more. Some are blogging about the events for their journalism class. But one of the highlights for many of the young women attending X-Mester came Sunday morning at the SIS Women’s Tryathlon hosted by the Knox County Community Foundation.

From the moment the Scholars arrived on campus, the triathletes have been dedicated to afternoon training, some on the bikes, some running and others doing laps in the Olympic-sized pool at Gregg Park.

All the hard work paid off as the seven teams each finished strong on Sunday morning. The 21 competitors included scholars, fellows and staff and the photo above came after their accomplishment.

Front row — Miranda Wright, Connie Griffith, Evelyn Perez, Carley Hollander, Breione Robair, Nina Long, Raeven Freeman, Linzey Claywell, Emily Peed.

Behind — Kelsey Wilson, Shyane Bailey, Patricia Melton, Tieree Smith, Megan Mahoney, Kirsten Jorgensen, Emma Stolz, Carly St. John, India Glenn, Kelly Teskey.

X-Mester welcomed the 2011 Fellows to Indianapolis on Wednesday with a visit to the NCAA Hall of Champions, where Juliette Kenny and Jennifer Strawley of the NCAA greeted the cohort upon arrival as did Indiana State Representative Mary Ann Sullivan.

After the trip to the NCAA, the group ventured to Vincennes University, where the Fellows have begun deep training and preparing for the weekend arrival of more than 100 students.

Click on the photo for a larger format look. Here is the caption of the photo:

Left to right: Maka Anyanwu (Cornell); Emma Stolz (Washington State); David Tucker (VP, Vincennes University); Kathleen Barry (Columbia); Adrian Lugo (Vincennes); Victor Ingellis (Johnson & Wales); Kirsten Jorgensen (Harvard); Joseph Davis (Vincennes); Genay Kirkpatrick (Princeton); Harrison Soebroto (Columbia); Chidi Uche (Virginia); David Foster (Bowie State); Chris Tucci (Manhattan); Megan Mahoney (Marist); Justin Harter (IUPUI); Courtney Sender (Johns Hopkins).
Kneeling: Makura Compton (Lehigh)