Breakthrough Philly Helps Aspiring Veterinarian

College has been a goal of Bryanna Stokes for a very long time. As early as fifth grade she spent countless hours of her free time at the computer researching schools. She did more than that. She started writing to them.

"I would write telling them what I was looking for in a school."

Bryanna's mother, Shannon, cautioned her. "You're young. Don't expect them to write back."

Bryanna noted with a slight shake of her head and a soft smile, "Not a one did."

Then one day, a representative from Breakthrough of Greater Philadelphia came to visit her sixth grade class at Beeber Middle School in her Overbrook neighborhood. The young people heard about the challenging summer program for middle school students that would enrich their academic experience and teach them skills that would put them on a college track.

Bryanna and several of her girlfriends were excited by the prospects Breakthrough offered them. "But then my friends started to think it might mess up their summer."

Breakthrough requires an intense commitment from its students during the summer months. Students attend classes five days er week for six weeks and receive two hours of homework each weeknight.

Bryanna was the only one of her group of friends who joined Breakthrough. The required 10-page application and interview did not deter her from applying.

Breakthrough has programs at three locations. Middle School children meet at Germantown Friends School or Saint Joseph's University. High School Breakthrough students meet at Drexel University. Bryanna attended Breakthrough at Saint Joseph's for two summers before moving on to the Drexel program this summer.

Bryanna's stepfather, Andre Horne, says, "I like that the classes are held on a college campus. They get to see what college is like and I get to brag 'I'm picking up my stepdaughter at the University.'"

Bryanna is glad she invested three summers in Breakthrough's intensive educational experience. So are her mother and stepfather.

"Bryanna was shy in public," her mother said. "We used to tell her to just talk to people the way she talks to us at home. Now she is the first person to start talking."

Bryanna corrects her mother with characteristic humor. "I'm not the first, Mom. But I'm not the last."

Today she speaks with poise, confidence, and humor punctuated with a disarming smile. She spoke at Breakthrough's recent Visiting Day at Drexel University.

Bryanna is a "mostly A" student, eager to share her achievements. She collects her work and certificates in a portfolio and displays her trophies as proudly as any athlete.

At 14, she is already pondering her essay for her college application. "We studied successful essays in Breakthrough. They should be both narrative and expository. You have to show why you should go to their school."

Bryanna has one aspiration. "I want to be a veterinarian."

Her mother says, "I have three children. It is not unusual for young people to change their minds. My 18-year-old son is still deciding what he wants to do. Not Bryanna. She has always wanted to be a vet. She never changes."

"I have always loved animals," Bryanna said. "I had a fish. My brothers had turtles. Now I have a cat. I rescued her from the shelter. Her name was Yoki in the shelter. I could have changed her name, but I wanted her to know where she came from."

Bryanna looks forward to starting high school in the fall. She will attend Philadelphia's in the Roxborough neighborhood, which concentrates on agricultural and animal care. "They have every kind of animal there—fish, mice, cows, horses, even dogs—beagles, I think."

This summer Bryanna is continuing her classes at Breakthrough held at the campus of Drexel University and participating in a preparatory program at Saul.

She doesn't mind the toll it takes on her summer. "It's preparing me for my future."

"Breakthrough is a lot of work, but it is also fun," she says. "We do a lot of fun things." Her summer courses include Biology, Math, Writing and Literature. "In Literature we are reading Ender's Game. She describes the futuristic novel that describes a world that staffs its army with genetically engineered youth.

"I didn't think I'd like it," Bryanna says, "but it's interesting."

Breakthrough has taught Bryanna to try things. "I think I want to work with small animals," she says, "but Saul has horses and cows. I'll give big animals a try."

Bryanna's mother and stepfather glow when talking about Bryanna's Breakthrough experience. "This kind of thing just wasn't there for us," Shannon says with regret. "I can't help but look at Bryanna's experience and wonder what my life might have been like if I had something like Breakthrough when I was young."

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