b'FUTURES Fall 2021f e a t u r e sSAVE THE DATE College 20 Kickoff22 On August 10, the Office of College Success CONFERENCE hosted its first in-person event in over a year anda half, commemorating the start of the school year at our College Kickoff! Close to 40 collegians came to Dilworth Park to celebrate and have lunch with Week of January 10 Futures staff, including OCS three new advisors: Aissetou Diawara, Chantel Jones, and Romer Acosta.Details to Follow The outdoor setting allowed for many happyreunions and several initial meetings as bothcollegians and staff were able to connect in person for the first time since the pandemic began.Collegians excitedly donned their school t-shirts,CEO CORNERmet their advisors, and had opportunities to connect with other collegians at their campuses. The event was capped off with staff-guided tours of our new office space, where students were especially excitedto see the new student lounge and computer labareas they will be able to take advantage of whenthey visit the office in the future.DEAR FRIENDS,Welcome back! That was the banner that greeted our staff and students as we returned to the new office in September. Seeing it hanging in the foyer of our new offices evoked so many emotions. Excitement about the opportunity to connect in person with students and staff that we had not seen in months (and in some cases,had never met), but also anxiety aswe navigate this new environment and endeavor to keep everyone safe and healthy.We are figuring it out, testing as we go, and adjusting based on the data we are collecting. We learned continued on page 8in this issue Graduation, p. 2 Futures News Feed, p. 3 Spotlight: Strategic Plan, p. 4-5 Summer Programs, p. 6'