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Este informe no está disponible en español. THE ORLANDO SENTINELHe Points To New Pathby Sara ShecklerSeptember 17, 2000 LEESBURG -- Miguel Gonzalez knows firsthand the value of a good education. "I was the first of my family to graduate from high school and to attend college," he said. Gonzalez is the director of Talent Search, a program begun at Lake-Sumter Community College in 1999 that targets low-income middle and high school students at Lake and Sumter County schools who show college potential.
"Guidance counselors at the schools have information on the program," Gonzalez said. "One of the criteria students must meet is that neither of their parents hold a bachelor`s degree" To recruit, he works with student services departments at Lake and Sumter schools. Talent Search is a program developed by the U.S. Department of Education in 1965. The program provides career counseling and college information, plus information on scholarships and other forms of financial aid. In 1998, LSCC received a $1 million grant for the program from the federal government that will last until 2004. Talent Search is the same program that Rollins College in Winter Park has offered at several Lake County schools since 1991, along with aiding schools in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. Lake-Sumter`s program benefits students in grades six through 12 at schools including Leesburg High, Carver Middle, Oak Park Middle, Umatilla High, South Lake High, Griffin Middle, South Sumter Middle and South Sumter High, Wildwood Middle and Wildwood High. Gonzalez said the program started recruiting students in 1999. Gonzalez, 46, knows the personal side of the program. He participated in the program while he was a student in the 1970s. He graduated from the University of Puerto Rico in Rio Piedras with a bachelor`s degree in education in 1974 and earned a master`s degree in human services from Lincoln University in Oxford, Pa., in 1989. In 1997, Gonzalez earned a doctorate in education from Temple University in Philadelphia. Since the inception of Talent Search, 282 students have participated. "Our target amount is 600 students. We`ve spoken to more than 1,200 students in the two counties," Gonzalez said. Gonzalez, born in Lares, Puerto Rico, moved to Altamonte Springs in 1998. In his free time, he enjoys playing and listening to music. "I have been a performing artist for 30 years and used to play piano, bass guitar and flute in salsa and Latin jazz bands," he said. Marc Anthony and La India are two of his favorite performers. "And I love big-band music," he said.
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PHOTO: Decisions. Stacey Irrgang confers with Dr. Miguel Gonzalez (right), her adviser and the director of Talent Search at LSCC. (Jessica Mann/The Orlando Sentinel)