Enroot Celebrates Black History Month

By: Adnan, Enroot 12th grade student

Enroot is celebrating Black History Month! We’ve decided to do something different this year. Everyday of February we will post some facts about places that Black people call home and some stories of Black unsung heroes. These places include Africa and the Caribbean, but also Latin America, where many identify as Black. We are hanging these features on a wall where our staff and students can learn new things every day! This wall will be at our Enroot office and in our offices at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and at Somerville High School.

It includes people like Barbara C. Jordan - she was the first African American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction. Frederick Douglass escaped slavery and became a national leader of abolitionists. Bessie Coleman was the first licensed African American female pilot. We also learned that more than a million African slaves were brought to Cuba as part of the Atlantic Slave Trade. It is said that 65% of the Cuban population are descendants of slaves. Additionally, Ethiopia was the only country in Africa which never colonized! We are so excited to learn and share more throughout this month in honor of the people and places of Black history.

Student Reflection on Visiting Fidelity

By: Adnan, Enroot 12th grade student

On January 17th, we had a special seminar and we went on a field trip to Fidelity. Fidelity is a multinational financial services corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts. It’s one of the largest asset managers, it controls around $2.5 trillion.

We were exploring and admiring the art around the building, led by an employee who worked at Fidelity for 12 years. There was an art which really surprised me, it was called “Eumorph” made by August Ventimiglia. He made it with chalk tape. There was another one which was fascinating. It was made by Thor and Jennifer Bueno called “silver series.” It was made of different shapes of silver droplets and contained a chemical element called Mercury.

We also had some delicious snacks that they offered us. We had an panel where we talked to 3 employees and they were sharing their past with us. They told us how long it took for them in order to be what they are today. They also talked about a rotational program where you can work with different people in different departments, which will help us discover what we want to continue doing. We also talked to different employees who had different majors in college.

I personally think it was a great experience talking to different people and know their opinion about how to succeed. I also added them in linkedin in order to stay connected with them, so I can keep talking to them and in future they can help get a job or internship.

A Visit to Simmons University

On October 31st, the Enroot female students made a trip to Simmons University located in the Boston area. Simmons University is a women-focused university. At the University, students were given a presentation about the requirements to apply to the university. Students were also guided about the financial aid at Simmons University. Students were told about the scholarships that Simmons has to offer. Finally, students were educated about the programs Simmons offers to those who are undergrad.

Something to take into consideration from the tour to Simmons University is the Kotzen Scholarship that Simmons offers to those who have a GPA of 3.49 and SAT scores of 1300 or above. The Kotzen Scholarship covers the cost for tuition, study abroad, and dorms. Students were informed that they can commute from home while being a student at the Simmons University.

Enroot always takes students to tour like this to different universities and colleges. It is really helpful for students who are seniors and also the ones who are juniors, sophomores, and freshmen because the tour can help students figure out which college is the best fit for them.