As someone who has always loved learning, it just feels right for me to be going to school every day (even in the summer). And although I am a student at The Ohio State University, I don’t mean that I’m spending my summer taking classes. Instead, I’ve started an exciting transition into learning about the Man Behind The Curtain–not the magical Wizard of Oz, but rather the extraordinary school staff members who keep things running smoothly. My name is Eleni Packis, and I am thrilled to be writing this after my first week as one of The Columbus Foundation’s Summer Fellows. This spring, I finished my sophomore year, and I am studying Policy Analysis and Economics.

My placement is at KIPP Columbus, a charter school dedicated to helping low-income students “Prove the Possible” (one of the school’s mantras; it means that with hard work and compassionate effort, KIPP believes that all students can succeed). After just one week, I’m already amazed. Just stepping inside of KIPP’s building fills one with a sense of wonder. The walls are covered with inspirational quotes from a diverse collection of individuals, from Winston Churchill to Maya Angelou.

But the most inspiring part of KIPP to me so far has been observing the caring people who work there. It was their students’ last week of school, which meant lots of different things: wrapping up some state testing, a fun spelling lesson with shaving cream for kindergarteners, and a “Promotion” ceremony for their class of 8th graders. Promotion? The word confused me as I heard it repeated around the office. “Don’t you mean graduation?” I inquired. Nope. Like most things at KIPP, the word choice of “Promotion” is highly deliberate. Instead of calling it a “graduation,” which implies their students are finished with something and can be done with it, KIPP chose the title of “Promotion” because, as they say, you graduate from high school or college with a degree that means something–but 8th grade is just another grade in school.

Once I’d finished helping check in families to the ceremony, I was able to duck in and watch most of it. KIPP Columbus’s Executive Director gave a speech where she detailed the statistics of how many students from backgrounds similar to KIPP Columbus’s students would graduate high school, and then how many of those students would attend and graduate college. The numbers were staggeringly low, but the most amazing part was how enthusiastic KIPP’s 8th grade students were at the prospect of finishing high school AND college. Witnessing the huge support they receive from KIPP–and just how impactful that can be–was my true inspiration this week.