Psalms Joseph’s mother started calling her “Dr. PJ” in the fourth grade.
Each Friday, Psalms’ science teacher would invite students to write a topic on a piece of paper and put it into a bowl—a topic they wanted to learn about. Week after week, Psalms wrote the word doctor and dropped her slip into the bowl, hoping hers would be picked. After it finally was, Psalms was spellbound as her class watched videos on YouTube of doctors helping patients. In that New Orleans elementary school classroom, she imagined herself one day donning a long white lab coat and improving—and saving—people’s lives.
“When my mom picked me up from school that day,” Psalms said, “I remember telling her: ‘Mom, I want to be a doctor.’” The nickname stuck.
Psalms is now 22 and a college senior, and preparing to take MCAT, the standardized test for prospective medical students in the U.S. Her goal is to attend medical school. The dream she’s had since fourth grade feels tantalizingly close.
Psalms is smart, bright, and driven, with a strong work ethic and a mother who always told her she could accomplish whatever she put her mind to. Even with such determination and support, the career-building opportunities, networking, and mentorship that are critical to anyone’s success were elusive for Psalms. But then YouthForce NOLA helped to make them a reality.
Across the U.S., students like Psalms face barriers to success , including a lack of access to financial support and mentors to support their path toward a degree in an in-demand field. These obstacles are so prevalent in communities at lower socioeconomic levels and some communities of color that only 60% of Black and Latino high school graduates and 51% of low-income grads immediately enroll in a postsecondary program after high school, compared with 70% of white high school graduates. Students' chances of success are higher if they start full-time college right away; completion rates are lower for part-time students, who often must balance school, work, and other responsibilities.
In Psalms’ hometown of New Orleans, these disparities are even greater: Just 27% of Black residents have college degrees, compared with 70% of white residents.
“We have very wide differences between the outcomes of white individuals and Black individuals in New Orleans,” YouthForce NOLA CEO Cate Swinburn says. “YouthForce exists to close those gaps so our young people can achieve equitable education outcomes, workforce outcomes, and ultimately economic outcomes.”
“We have very wide differences between the outcomes of white individuals and Black individuals in New Orleans. YouthForce exists to close those gaps so our young people can achieve equitable education outcomes, workforce outcomes, and ultimately economic outcomes.”
Closing those gaps will also help further New Orleans’ continued development, as a growing number of Black students with postsecondary degrees augment the city’s human capital and strengthen its economic prospects.
Opening doors to options and opportunities
When a high school counselor initially told her about YouthForce NOLA, Psalms was intrigued but unsure. She asked her mom, who explained: “They’ll help you with your future career, Dr. PJ.”