Student Responses

This post features several students who responded in writing to a visit they paid to Hampton University. As you will see, for some of them, this trip opened up all kinds of possibilities. Enjoy!


Kira McLaurin
8th Grade

Hampton, Virginia—now that’s the place to visit! Well, we actually went to the school, but I think you get what I’m trying to say. Hampton University is a very interesting campus. There are several sites to see while you’re there, including the historical graveyard, museum, tree, and the beautiful water view. Of course, my favorite was the wide space of water (water view). There I could free my mind of all my trouble and think peaceful and serene thoughts. There was no one around to stop me or my thoughts. In addition, the day being “High School Day,” there were lots of activities going on like rock climbing, dancing, food step shows, and much more. To sum it up, the trip was fun, interesting, and educating. I really hope to visit again next year; maybe there’ll be more people in my age group!


Howell Barren
8th Grade

Going to Hampton University was a great life experience! Mr. Malcom was a great mentor. The campus was lively with energy. They had a beautiful auditorium building; it was a white building with blue glass. As we walked toward the football stadium we passed by a cemetery with white marble stones. While we were passing by the stadium there was a building that was glass on the outside. In the inside there was a bowling alley, restaurant, and a choir who could really sing. On the side there was a rock climbing wall. In the back, behind it there was an assortment of places to get food. I went into the football locker hall and saw Mr. Malcolm’s picture and the different trophies they had won. Then we went to watch the band perform. They were pretty good. Then we met the president of Hampton University.


Lyric McGhee
8th Grade

The trip that completed my life was going to Hampton University! I have experienced things I thought three years ago I’d never do! I’ve learned that college life isn’t all about fun. I also took a tour around campus with my friend’s old teacher. They have a beautiful campus by the ocean where you can see Navy ships in the distance. The trip was interesting because on the way there I met a lot of different people that gave advice and shared their experiences at the college. We also went to the dorms—both male and female. I thought the rooms for the females where big and cool except the ones that didn’t have air conditioning. I saw and heard the president at a ceremony. They announced the king and queen of the university as well. This experience has influenced me to go out of town for college and made Hampton an option. Therefore, I will cherish this moment in time forever and share it with others.


Angelina Barden
8th Grade

Going to Hampton, Virginia, was the farthest I’ve traveled in my life. The atmosphere and beautiful campus changed my mind on where I would like to go to college. While I was walking through the campus I realized a lot of historical things happened there. One thing that happened on that campus was Abraham Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation. The tree Abraham Lincoln stood in front of is still standing. Another unique thing is the statue of Booker T. Washington pointing toward the tree. Hampton University has the biggest girl dorm in the United States. The site there is so magnificent. Considering I want to go to school and live by water, Hampton would be a good fit. Hampton also has a free museum on campus. The museum has a lot of original artifacts that were collected on the land where the university is located. The music at Hampton is very odd. They have a mixture of Boston mix, rap, R&B, and country. As you can see, I had a lot of fun going to the university, and I will be looking forward to it again.

Also, as I walked through the campus people from all over of the United States were there. This tells me not only people from Virginia go to that university, but people from all over the United States go there.

Summer Employment

RE is pleased to announce that it will be hiring several students as summer youth employees! These students will help with office work and plan and complete a summer park project as well as develop life-long skills that will be useful for school and future family and job situations. We are excited for the summer to start and are working to make it all a success!

The Goal

The purpose of this blog is to share all of our great stories with you...keep checking back to see what's up!

First Post

Our mission is to educate and empower children/youth in challenging circumstances by providing them with an opportunity to build strong academic skills and develop self-confidence, pride and leadership skills. We set high standards of excellence by raising academic, social and communal expectations of each child, while encouraging an awareness of opportunities and empowering children to become critical thinkers. We do this through several program initiatives such as academic tutoring three days per week, monthly social discovery field trips, community service learning projects and much more. For more information about our program please visit our website at www.raisingexpectations.org.