Dear TAF, 

I have a fun story to share with you about the prospect of a field trip for some of our students that started with a conversation and over a short time became reality. Here's the Cliff Notes version:

The Beginning:
A few folks from Alaska Airlines met with me to explore new ways Alaska could support TAF beyond their involvement with our TTIP internship program and annual corporate contributions. During that conversation the subject turned to a little project a couple of people (not named) were cooking up to peak the interest of 8th and 9th graders about what college could do for them. That meeting covered a number of ideas and closed without any final decision.

May 1, 2008

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The Middle:
A month after this meeting, I ran into Brad Jackson (CEO of Two Degrees) at a dinner and he started talking about an idea of his. You guessed it: he was part of that little group folks that Alaska had spoken of. He wanted to get involved and offer kids a visit to a college campus. Talk about serendipity!

The Ending:
It gets better! Five of our students were invited to participate in the first ever Future Cougars Visit at Washington State University. A chartered plane took them on their overnight journey to experience college life first hand. On their visit they toured the campus, viewed several staff presentations, explored the planetarium, met with students and had lunch with the WSU President Elson Floyd. TAF Instructor Richard Brown, who accompanied the students, said our kids got "great reviews" from their hosts at WSU. "They had no idea what a life-changing experience they were about to be a part of." Take a look at a few pictures of the experience...

To add a little incentive, Brad Jackson graciously put a $1,000 scholarship on the table for any one of the students who chooses to attend WSU. Opportunities like that make all the difference in the world!

In other news from my knothole, the last few weeks have been focused on securing resources for TAF Academy in Federal Way and for building our new home in White Center. So I'm really happy to announce two major grants:

  • The Paul Allen Foundation awarded us a $1.6M grant (over 4 years) for TAF Academy! Read the details...
  • The Safeco Foundation awarded us a $200K grant (over 2 years) for our Community Learning Space! Read the details...

This is great news indeed; however, my work is far from  done. A good education costs more than what our state provides schools, and, of course, a $15 million capital campaign is a big elephant to eat. But as I always say, "This is the work." Our kids deserve every chance to succeed that we can offer them.

Thanks for listening and thanks for your support,
 

Trish Millines Dziko
Executive Director
Technology Access Foundation
 

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