Kinnick’s AVID continues Google Meet College Tours

Yokosuka, Japan – In the past 10 years, Travis Stevens, Kinnick’s AVID teacher, has celebrated the hundreds of students going off to a wide variety of colleges and universities.

Being a DODDS graduate, Class of 92 from Kadena High School, he understands the daunting step for graduates to head back to the U.S. for school.  Most stateside AVID programs integrate college tours as part of their curriculums, but since DoDEA schools don’t have those options, he had to get creative.

Even prior to Covid, Kinnick’s AVID classes have held Google Meets with AVID Alumni across the United States.   Alumni now eagerly correspond with the chance to share their experiences about transitioning from Japan to stateside, moving into dorms, cultural shock, classes, getting a driver’s license, college life, the sports culture and much more. 

Alumni share their college life hacks, sometimes giving dorm tours, introducing students to roommates and sharing information they wished they knew before getting to campus. 

In the Fall, the Google Meets are mostly geared toward the AVID 12 class, where students are making decisions on where to apply. In the Spring, the Meets support the AVID 11 class, which is made up of students just starting the application process. 

This year, Kinnick’s AVID class has spoken to Chizuru Nguyen from Ohio State, Tina Martin from Texas Tech University, Ria Casas and Imani Mincey from UCLA, Leon Aweso, who plays soccer at Notre Dame of Maryland University, Fiona Brooks at the Culinary Institute of America, Mikaila Joi Miranda from University of Hawaii and Anna Bowen who attends Temple University in Tokyo. 

Every December or January, Kinnick hosts and AVID Alumni day where students who return for winter break get to come back to class and participate in an “in-person” panel discussion for students. 

These Google Meets and alumni presentations are a great way for current DoDEA students to learn from alumni who just last year or a few years ago sat in the same seat.  They have proved very successful in lessening the stress and worries about transition from high school to college for many, and Mr. Stevens hopes to keep the tradition going for years to come.

In 2020, Mr. Stevens started hosting Google Meets with a wide variety of professionals who were also working from home and had the time.  Since the days of “Mr. Stevens Talks to Cool People,” coined by Taiyo Reimers in 2020, Kinnick’s AVID class has held Google Meets with:

• Current and former Team USA volleyball players Chiaka Ogbogu, Lindsey Berg, Tri Bourne and Jordan Larson, Tokyo Olympics MVP, including the Chairperson of Team USA, Lori Okimura
• Rohan Freeman, CEO of Freeman Companies and mountaineer who has completed the Seven Summits Grand Slam going to the tallest peaks on all seven summits and the north and south poles.  He spoke with the AVID class from base camp 5 of Everest and gave the students a tour.
• Emilie Ikeda, NBC News correspondent and member of the Today Show.
• Tyler Jewell, Team USA Olympic snowboarder   
• Bobby Brown, Team USA ski Olympian and present Red Bull skier.
• Selema Masekela, Sports/Media broadcaster and face of the X games, Olympics and Red Bull events.
• Mark and Sarah from Mobility Duo, PHD in Physical Therapy and Nutritionist/Yogo instructors who run online platforms geared towards snowboarding fitness
• Florence “Flo” Ryan, Youtuber who was riding her bike from Egypt to South Africa. Students spoke to her from Uganda.