DATE: Friday, October 3, 1997               TAG: 9710020700

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Education 

SOURCE: BY NANCY YOUNG, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   47 lines

THINK ABOUT COLLEGE NOW, SAYS PROGRAM

Waiting until high school to think about college might be too late.

That's the scoop from the Exxon-ACC Kids and College Program, which has donated thousands of dollars to area middle schools, brought in speakers and arranged for trips to college campuses.

For middle schoolers, ``it's hard to think about the concept of thinking about college; it's just too far removed,'' said Sharon Gupton, coordinator of the program. ``But if you're setting goals in middle school, you're not as likely to be a slave to peer pressure.''

The program, which works with schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference region, took its show to both Chesapeake and Virginia Beach schools recently, donating $10,000 to the Virginia Beach system and a total of $4,000 to four Chesapeake middle schools.

In Chesapeake, eighth-grade students were treated to speeches by two officers from Oceana Naval Air Station. Both said that when they were eighth-graders, they were setting the goals that led to where they are today.

``It wasn't luck that got me here, it was goal-setting,'' said Lt. j.g. Victor Hare to students at Hickory Middle School. He said both of his parents died when he was young; he was struggling in school and was told that he probably wouldn't be able to go to college.

``Luckily, by the grace of God, I was able to motivate myself,'' said Hare, a radar intercept officer and a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. ``If you want something bad enough, you can do it. You might have to be a self-starter, though.''

Hare's fellow officer and Naval Academy graduate, Lt. j.g. Kerry Kuykendall, said that when she mentioned her dream of becoming a fighter pilot, she was discouraged.

``I was told girls can't be fighter pilots,'' she said, adding that when she applied to college she was asked to show records dating back to junior high.

For eighth-grader Marques Forbes, Hare and Kuykendall's talk was inspiring, particularly ``the way they made their dreams come true, getting good grades, practicing every day.''

But he and fellow eighth-graders Mike Nixon and Joe Doyle say they're already planning ahead for college and eventual sports careers. However, many middle-schoolers, they say, are not quite so focused.

``They need to make up their mind on what they want to be,'' Mike said. ``It's that time.''

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