Chattanooga, TN – Tuesday, June 25th – Public Education Foundation (PEF) is thrilled to

announce the 25th anniversary of Camp College, an initiative that has profoundly impacted the

lives of students for a quarter of a century. To commemorate this milestone, this year’s

participants, graduates from the previous 24 years of Camp College, college admissions

counselors who have served as counselors over the last two decades, supporters, and PEF staff

members gathered at Sewanee: University of the South for a celebration and time to reflect on

their experiences in a program that has become a beacon of hope for Hamilton County public

school students who want to become the first in their families to graduate from college.

The Program’s Legacy

Camp College was established in 1999. Since then, the program has served over 1,300 Hamilton

County public school students. One hundred percent of these students completed an

application and applied for financial aid. Over the years, Camp College students have been

admitted to and attended 167 different colleges, from close-by universities such as UTC and

The College of the South to far away colleges like Stanford and University of Washington. So

far, almost 1000 Camp College graduates have earned a college degree-- and many more are on

track to graduate from college in the next few years.

"Very few things last for a quarter of a century,” said Dr. Dan Challener, President of PEF.

"Camp College has thrived for this long because it is founded on a powerful idea—earning a

college degree—and because it has been supported by committed college counselors and

generous citizens and corporate partners, like Unum and UBS. The power of Camp College is

evident in the stories of our alumni, people like Toccora Johnson-Peterson who is now the CEO

of Girls Inc., Chattanooga, and Dr. Daphne Penn, who is now a professor of education at

Vanderbilt University. We are honored to celebrate this milestone with the people who have

made Camp College, truly, a shining city on a hill."

Janice Neal, Assistant Director of College and Career Success at PEF, reflected on the program's

impact: "Seeing the growth and success of our students over the past 25 years has been

incredibly rewarding. Camp College is not just about college preparation; it's about empowering

students to believe in themselves and their potential. The reunion was a special celebration of

their journeys and accomplishments."

The Impact

Camp College staff work closely with each student to identify “best-fit” colleges that match

their career goals, academic strengths, and lifestyle needs. This personalized approach has

supported students like Klarke Stricklen, who fell in love with Sewanee: The University of the

South during her time at Camp College. She subsequently applied, matriculated, and graduated

from Sewanee; in the winter of her senior year, she won a Rhodes Scholarship and is presently

earning a master’s degree at the University of Cambridge.

These success stories are a testament to the program's effectiveness in preparing students for

higher education and beyond. Gabriel Loureiro, a graduate of Ooltewah High School who

attended Camp College in 2018, is currently a senior studying mechanical engineering at the

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Reflecting on his Camp College experience, Gabriel

shared: “I was very nervous about applying and going to college because I'm a first-generation

student. I couldn't just ask my parents what college was like and how to get there. Getting

firsthand experience of going to an actual campus and staying the night there, and networking

with people my age and the chaperones, was a great experience. Not only was Camp College

very informative, but it was also so much fun. I would recommend it to anybody to sign up and

do it because it was a great experience. I'm so thankful that I did it because it honestly did help

me get ready for college. It taught me things that I wasn't learning in high school about how to

succeed in college."

Similarly, Michael Davis, a Camp College alum and graduate of Hixson High School, attended

Camp College in 2018. He recently graduated from Lane College with a degree in Computer

Science. Now an IT professional for the City of Chattanooga, Michael shared how Camp College

set him up to pursue a rewarding career path and inspire his younger siblings along the way:

“Camp College played a huge role in my decision to continue my education. During my senior

year of high school, I was fed up with going to school and didn’t see the point, but I knew I

needed to get a job and make some money. I also knew I didn’t want to work multiple jobs just

to make ends meet. The emphasis on ‘best-fit’ at Camp College showed me there was a better

way to achieve my goals. My experience at Camp College ultimately led me to be a firstgeneration

college student. As the oldest of 8 siblings, I’m proud to be breaking a generational

cycle and showing them that they can go after their dreams.”

The Camp College reunion at Sewanee: The University of the South was a day filled with

celebration, including more alumni stories, networking, and a lunch. The event was an

opportunity for alumni to reconnect, share their experiences, and inspire the next generation of

Camp College students. Public Education Foundation invites the community to learn more

about this life-changing program and how they can support it at pefchattanooga.org/campcollege.