Washington Parish Men’s Club has been dedicated to the improvement of the lives of young people in the Washington Parish area for many years. This year, the club sponsored two students from Bogalusa High School on the “What’s Next? College Tour” from June 18-22. T’Asia Ladner and Ramero Watterson were selected to represent the Washington Parish area.

The What’s Next? College Tour is an extension of the What’s Next? Program that provides ACT Tutoring, financial aid and in south Louisiana for high school students. The program was started in 1999, by Daphne Martin Donaldson, 1995 graduate of Bogalusa High School, to provide valuable information for high school students as they prepare for the next chapter of their lives after graduation.

The program started with Saturday workshops at the Avenue U YMCA and quickly expanded to providing college tours for students. T’Asia and Ramero participated with 12 other students from five high schools around south Louisiana to visit 10 universities over the five-day tour.

The colleges and universities included Jackson State University, Belhaven University, Tougaloo College, University of Mississippi, University of Memphis, Lemoyne Owens College, Vanderbilt University, Tennessee State University, Meharry Medical College and Fisk University. An Arkansas State University recruiter also came to visit students for a recruitment session.

The students also visited the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Miss., STAX Museum in Memphis, Tenn., and BB King’s Restaurant in Nashville, Tenn., where they had the opportunity to listen to live music from blues legend Carl Stewart.

The What’s Next? College Tour touts above a 90-percent college attendance rate for students who participate in the tour. Many of the previous participants currently have advanced degrees, including juris doctorates. College Tour volunteer chaperones were Bridget Martin, Devin Guillory, Jamecia Jackson and Alvarez Hertzock.

Next year will mark the 20th anniversary for the program, and to celebrate the What’s Next? College Tour will take students to Washington, D.C., during spring break. For more information, visit the What’s Next? Program Facebook page or contact Daphne Donaldson at 225-276-2448 or daphnedonaldson@mail.com.