When Ashanti Beene graduated from high school over two decades ago, no one told her college was an option.
āThey were like, āYou graduate, go to work,āā she said. āI didn’t know anything about college.ā
So when Beeneās daughters started high school, she was determined to make sure her kids had what she didnāt: support and encouragement to go to college.
Thatās how her two kids ā now 14 and 15 ā got involved with the Starfish Initiative. The Indianapolis nonprofit provides one-on-one mentoring for Indianaās 21st Century Scholars.
For Starfish, success isnāt just about helping students achieve their goals. The organization focuses on educating parents alongside their children. The idea is to empower parents with not just the knowledge students need to succeed, but with information that will help their families long after their kids leave for college.
In 2021, the Pew Research Center found that among 22- to 29-year-olds, those who had a college-educated parent were twice as likely to finish college than their first-generation peers. Some of the reasons behind this gap include academic challenges, financial struggles and the barriers of the āhidden curriculum,ā or expectations that college students need to know but are not taught explicitly, such as attending office hours.
By teaching parents about finances, mental health and open communication, Starfish hopes the parents will be empowered to help their kids through struggles in school and beyond.
āTheir parents are gonna be their parents forever,ā said Latrice Watson, program director at Starfish Initiative. āThe way to add to the success of students is making sure that you’re educating the parents along the way as well.ā
Starfishās mission
Helping scholarsā families is part of Starfishās holistic approach to putting students in positions to succeed, Watson said.
Starfish used to run a program called Generation+, which offered employment, coaching and job referrals to parents and caregivers of students in the mentoring program. While that programās no longer ongoing, Watson said the commitment to educating parents remains a core part of the nonprofitās mission.
Today, all of Starfishās events ā from college fairs to information nights ā offer programs for parents as well as students and their mentors. These sessions include everything from budgeting and saving to unique scholarship opportunities.
For families who need more assistance, the nonprofit also works to connect parents with wraparound services through local community centers.
But itās not just about practical skills; emotional wellness is important, too. As youth mental health crises become more common, Watson said she wants to empower parents to have difficult conversations with their children, especially during stressful times in their lives.
āI want to make sure that the parents have some skills as well to support their student,ā Watson said, ābecause they want to. They just don’t know how to.ā
Parent impact
Starfishās mission is in many ways centered around the first-generation college experience, but the education sessions are helpful even to parents who didnāt attend college.
Though Stefan Tichenor and his wife did attend college, itās changed a lot in the years since.
Since signing his sophomore son up for the Starfish mentoring program, Tichenor learned how to apply for scholarships and grants to ease the cost of college.
Those will be helpful for his son and for his older daughter, whoās studying at Ball State.
āIt takes a village to raise a family,ā he said. āThe bigger the village, the more support; the more support, the more the growth.ā
The village is key for Iris Castaneda, too. Two of her children have gone through Starfishās program ā her son whoās already at IU Indianapolis ā and her daughter Ame, a senior at North Central.
Castaneda finds the college application process confusing, since she didnāt attend herself. Moreover, she doesnāt speak much English, so she often canāt follow much of whatās said in the parent sessions.
But she comes to every event because sheās determined to provide support for her kidsā college dreams, even if just by showing up.
āWe’re the first gen in our whole family line to go to college, so it’s very important for her that we actually go,ā said Ame, who was translating for her mom. āShe doesn’t want us to go through what she went through ā having more difficult jobs, having to work harder, being more exhausted.ā
As for Beene, sheās determined to learn everything she can from Starfishās parent sessions. But in the midst of encouraging her kids to go to college, Beene pursued that dream herself, too.
She graduated with her bachelorās degree in social work from Indiana Wesleyan University in December.
āI was determined to get my degree before they graduated,ā Beene said. āI wanted them to stand at my graduation and see me graduate, so that I could push them to graduate.ā
Claire Rafford covers higher education for Mirror Indy in partnership with Open Campus. Contact Claire by email claire.rafford@mirrorindy.org, at 317-759-0249 or on most social media @clairerafford.
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