Students prepare for College at YMCA event

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - More than 250 high school students from seven states gathered in Downtown Indianapolis on Saturday for a series of college readiness workshops aimed at a successful future.

The YMCA 2012 Midwestern Regional Achievers Teen Summit at the Marriott Downtown had a central theme of "Empowering a New Generation," as students in grades nine through 12 attended a variety of sessions geared toward college readiness hosted by the Urban Mission YMCA of Indianapolis.

Students from Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin learned about early preparing for college academically, mentally and socially, as well as interpersonal communication, networking and how to finance a post-secondary education wisely.

Matthew Krieg, marketing associate at ISM, presented Saturday's financial aid workshops.

"As we work with students, we stress to them to plan ahead and think about scholarships and exhaust every option in funding education responsibly," Krieg said. "When they make the right decisions now, they'll also most likely avoid mistakes in the future and hopefully escape excessive student loan debt burden. Free money to the student is the best way to pay for college."