The nonprofit College for Every Student (CFES) Brilliant Pathways is based in nearby Essex, New York, and has been active for 30 years working to help students in rural and urban areas across the country become college- and career-ready. Prior to the pandemic, its college readiness program was mostly offered in person and on site. It included student mentorship, college or career exploration, professional development resources for educators, and help to families trying to figure out the different pathways to college.

While the pandemic created challenges for the nonprofit, including how to make sure students had reliable internet access, the organization discovered a silver lining: In a hybrid world, kids who are often left out had access to wider networks and more opportunities.

The pandemic has only increased the urgency of CFES’s efforts to help kids get to college. Nationwide, rural students already had lower college enrollment rates before the pandemic, but the number of rural students planning to attend college plummeted by more than 18 percent in 2020, according to recent data.

Tapping into their existing network of colleges, business partners and students around the country, CFES was able to connect students from rural towns in upstate New York, rural Texas, and Eastern Tennessee to more urban and diverse communities in Atlanta and Boston. The program offered one-on-one virtual college mentors, virtual campus tours, and talks with college professors and current students, along with meetings with various industry professionals and experts from different states.

Program officials said college and corporate business partnerships from around the country allowed them to introduce rural students to professionals in careers they may not have seen or considered.

Read the full article about prepping rural students by Javeria Salman at The 74.