Planning Your ECA Event
Led by ECA-pioneer the Harvard Club of Baltimore, a growing list of other Harvard Clubs throughout the country now run ECA programs with great success in their local communities.
How it works
Volunteers from the local Harvard Club will start by contacting a school’s superintendent, principal, and/or guidance counselor for approval before developing the program’s content. Venue logistics are handled by Club volunteers, and the event is presented free of charge to the 7th and 8th students and parents.
A typical program
The typical program is presented on a Saturday morning during the Spring Semester in four parts:
- PART ONE focuses on comments by students from the local high schools who have gone to college and can speak on how college has broadened their horizons and created important opportunities for them.
- PART TWO focuses on grants and scholarship aid, and other types of financial assistance available for many of these students, and is directed primarily toward the parents. The speaker is typically a financial aid specialist from a local two or four-year college.
- BREAK – brunch is served to participants
- PART THREE features a speaker who discusses how best to prepare for college during the four years of high school, as well as what standardized tests must be taken to present a credible college application.
- PART FOUR consists of a featured speaker, oftentimes a public figure or local success story, who talks on the benefits of continuing education after high school from a personal standpoint. These speakers have come from all walks of life.
Examples of past speakers:
- Len Elmore, who played for the University of Maryland basketball team, and then played professionally for the New York Knicks. After retiring from professional basketball, he further continued his formal education, earning a law degree from Harvard Law School.
- Jean Fugett, a college graduate who played for the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X, and went on to manage Beatrice International, an international company headquartered in Paris.
At the conclusion of the ECA program, many Harvard Clubs raffle off college-items such as tee shirts, hats, lanyards or sweat shirts for the students.
Nuts & Bolts
Date: Oftentimes on Saturday morning in the Spring
Time: starting at 9 a.m. and ending at about 12:30 p.m
Location: Venue selected in partnership with the Harvard Club
Cost: No charge to the 7th and 8th grade students or parents attending
Transportation: Occasionally vans or buses are provided to help some of the students and their parents with special needs to make it to the event
Language: In some instances translators have been provided
