A CASA Story: Bethany Carter

 

Bethany Carter’s connection to the Center for Educational Outreach began when she was still in high school. As part of the Eagle Scholars Program while a student at Lee M. Thurston High School in Redford, MI, Carter was immersed in a highly competitive honors program and had aspirations of going to an Ivy League school, but did not think of the University of Michigan as a place for students like herself.

A campus visit hosted by CEO changed all that, becoming what Carter describes as “one of [her] main factors for coming to the university.” She also met CEO’s Assistant Director of Student Engagment Dyrel Johnson, who served as a mentor to her throughout her college application process and told her about a job opportunity as a College Access & Success Ambassador (CASA) once she enrolled at U-M.

“People that look like me go to the University of Michigan and are involved in college and higher education.”

Through her work in CASA, Carter has participated in many student panels, wanting to ensure that, as a Black woman, she can show that “people that look like me go to the University of Michigan and are involved in college and higher education.”

Her message to prospective students is to “be determined to pave your own way and front your own path. Even though you may have imposter syndrome, you belong in any space that you put yourself in and that you identify with.”

This story originally appeared in “Celebrating 15 Years of Educational Outreach.”