Bethel University hosts sixth annual Baugo Promise "Walk into my Future" event

MISHAWAKA, Ind. -- Bethel University hosted the sixth annual Baugo Promise "Walk into my Future" event on Friday, where youth and families are encouraged to foster a community college-going culture.

The "Promise” is an initiative that also encompasses comprehensive activities for youth and families, aiming to build hope for their future.

The goals include leveraging the entire community to make it easy for families to begin saving for post-secondary education, to incentivize savings behavior with community matching funds, and to build college-saver identity for youth by exposing them to college and careers in the classroom and on campus.

Byron Sanders, Baugo Community Schools Superintendent, said, "It started as a part of our Baugo Promise initiative, and it was an opportunity for families to think about college-going behavior early in their children's education and so in these first three years of school and to begin to think about what it might take to go to college, what type of investment a family would need to make in order for their children to not be burdened with financial cost of going to university. And so, getting a look at what a campus might look like, what interaction might look like there, and just having a fun way of doing that."

The event is a way for Bethel education students to engage with the community and apply the skills they are learning in a real-world context.

It also allows Bethel students to share their passion for an academic content area or a sporting activity.