Joey Burns is six days away from his college graduation. As a Horizons “lifer,” he has always maintained a strong connection to Horizons at Greens Farms Academy (HGFA), not only participating in the K-12 academic enrichment program but in the high school, college, and internship programs as well. While the trajectory of his K-12 education included stints in both the Bridgeport and Fairfield public schools, Horizons was his “constant” — a place where he knew everyone and was known intimately, where nothing changed despite the new terrain he navigated elsewhere.
Like many Horizons students, Joey started Horizons in kindergarten without knowing much about the program. “My early years in Horizons were a lot of fun,” he recalls, “filled with all the things I needed to learn that weren’t being emphasized in the Bridgeport public schools.” Horizons became a more important part of his life when a family move placed him at Fairfield Woods Middle School. While the quality of the education was better, the small family feeling of Black Rock elementary was gone. “Kids at my new school had a lot of stereotypes about Bridgeport based on what they were told,” he explains. “As soon as I said I was from Bridgeport, everyone stopped talking.”

“I still remember when he started the summer of 2005, a shy little kindergarten boy from Black Rock School. I also remember when he kindly came to talk to the high school parents and students that were pre-selected to go to the Island School in Bahamas, and how amazing it was to hear him talk about the great experience he had for a month. He reassured parents and students that it was an amazing opportunity. I am so proud of Joey!”
— Luz Sanchez, Program Assistant
For high school, Joey returned to Bridgeport, attending the newly opened Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Multi-Magnet High School, with 70 percent of the students from Bridgeport and 30 percent from Fairfield and the surrounding towns. Once again, the authenticity of the Bridgeport community was a welcoming presence. “Returning to your roots,” Joey says, “you see each environment for what it is.” The school, offering Aerospace/Hydrospace Engineering & Physical Science, Biotechnology Research & Zoological Science, and Information Technology & Software Engineering, was very technical and highly competitive. Joey was in the engineering program, where, through a partnership with Sikorsky Aircraft Company, the school was able to provide “really cool experiences” directly related to what they were learning.

Horizons shaped the trajectory of his high school years in varied and powerful ways. Participating in the High School program, Joey was offered the chance to go to The Island School in the Bahamas for a week with a group of students. The following summer, he was invited to go back for a month. He also participated in the College Success and Career Launch programs, attending workshops focused on resume building, interviewing skills, and much more. “I wasn’t ever 100 percent sure I wanted to do any of it,” he says, “but I would definitely recommend to anyone in the program that they take advantage of everything. In my experience, each challenge was far more beneficial than nerve-wracking. Some of the things that seemed the least important turned out to be the biggest opportunities.”
Horizons shaped the trajectory of his high school years in varied and powerful ways. Participating in the High School program, Joey was offered the chance to go to The Island School in the Bahamas for a week with a group of students. The following summer, he was invited to go back for a month. He also participated in the College Success and Career Launch programs, attending workshops focused on resume building, interviewing skills, and much more. “I wasn’t ever 100 percent sure I wanted to do any of it,” he says, “but I would definitely recommend to anyone in the program that they take advantage of everything. In my experience, each challenge was far more beneficial than nerve-wracking. Some of the things that seemed the least important turned out to be the biggest opportunities.”
“What I liked most about Joey was the enthusiasm he brought to each one of our meetings. Joey was always ready to work and understood the effort that needed to be put forth to reach his goals. Joey was and always will be an amazing example of a Horizons student that took full advantage of what the program had to offer him, while always being appreciative of the help and support he received.”
— P.J. Washenko, High School Program
Joey was the first recipient of The Horizons National Odyssey Scholarship, which was established in 2018 by Cindy and Rob Citrone and provides annual tuition assistance, a stipend for books/supplies, and one-time global study grant for one student who has completed the Horizons National Pre-K to 12 summer program or its successor program. As an Odyssey Program student, Joey participated in a first-year summer orientation, attended annual retreats and monthly meetings with his peers, had one-on-one academic and career planning meetings, and maintained an academic and leadership portfolio. Not surprisingly, Odyssey students are consistently among Elon’s top-performing students.
“I owe Horizons a lot of my success,” Joey acknowledges. “They helped provide that big step up for me to take advantage of. Out of 1000 kids who applied, I was chosen.” Without the scholarship, Joey most likely would not have been able to go to college, at least not to a university like Elon. “It allowed me to accomplish my dreams and my parents’ dreams to have me go to college.” When the pandemic hit, his mother lost two of her jobs while his father was unable to work due to an injury. “The Horizons Scholarship gave me peace of mind, because I knew that no matter what was happening, I could return to Elon in the fall without a lot of struggle or sacrifice,” he recalls. “I am so grateful for that.”

“I came to Elon a very shy and introverted person,” Joey admits, but adds that he is no longer “that same person who is sitting on the side and waiting. I’m active in so many things… Elon has allowed me to figure out who I am and feel comfortable with it.” Joey immersed himself in campus life, serving as an Odyssey Program mentor and as founder and president of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Elon’s first and only Latino-based fraternity, which includes several fellow Odyssey scholars. “It’s a lifelong brotherhood that gives me access to nationwide professional development opportunities and great people,” Joey points out. “I wouldn’t have done this if I didn’t come to Elon.”
“We thoroughly enjoyed having both Sebastian [Guzman] and Joey [Burns] in the office this summer. Both were hardworking, engaged and added real value to the teams they worked with… At Kolmar, any of our interns or new employees need to be willing to stretch their thinking, adjust their daily expectations and be super inquisitive and innovative. Joey and Sebastian did a great job with all of that.”
— Kevin Luddy, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Kolmar Americas, Inc.
Like the majority of college students since March 2020, Joey recognizes that his college experience was very different due to Covid-related protocols and concerns. “They sent us home during the initial outbreak in March, but by September we were back on campus with a hybrid system,” he explains. Serving as his dorm’s resident advisor his junior year was much more difficult than the previous year, enforcing constantly changing protocols for less pay. “It was a lot of responsibility,” he notes. He also had to give up plans to study abroad in Sorrento, Italy his junior year. This year, however, he was able to live off campus and travel to Hawaii during January term. There he engaged in a close-up study of Hawaiian culture throughout history. Again, the pandemic altered his experience, as having Covid in early January forced him to miss the first week on the island, when students had the opportunity to work in the mangrove and fishing industries. He also missed out on the section of the course that was normally held in Honolulu due to rising Covid cases there. Despite these setbacks, he met with a variety of people and came away with a valuable experience.
Listening to Joey talk candidly about his college experiences, it’s hard not to be struck by how much he defies the current college student profile portrayed in recent New York Times articles. Jonathan Malesic, who teaches at Southern Methodist University as well as at a public university, highlights an alarming apathy among college students: “In my classes last fall, a third of the students were missing nearly every time… Students buried their faces in their laptop screens and let my questions hang in the air unanswered… classes were small, yet some students openly slept through them.” The problems (poor attendance, late assignments, apathy during class discussions) were the same in both settings; students weren’t putting in what was needed to learn and performed worse than any students he had encountered in two decades of teaching. This article, and many like it as college graduations take place throughout the country, might leave us worried and disheartened, if not for students like Joey. Clearly, enjoying year-round, one-on-one contact and focused support from their Horizons coaches and mentors is helping our Horizons students anticipate and tackle the challenges they face as first generation college students so they can persist toward their degrees.
“Joey is a standout leader in Horizons who helped us launch and establish many strong programs through his participation and thoughtful feedback. He was the second Horizons student ever that we sent to the Island School, the first to apply for and receive the Horizons National Odyssey Scholarship at Elon, one of the first interns when we started the Career Launch program. Joey is always responsive and positive. He finds a way to not only make the most of every experience offered to him but also add to every community he is part of. I am grateful for the trust he showed in us by participating in each of the programs we offered him and encouraging other students to participate as well.”
— Christina Whittaker, Director of the High School and College Program
With graduation fast approaching, Joey admits, “I’m ready; I’m just not sure I want to be here yet. I would like a little bit more of my college experience.” But he is quick to add that what’s on the other side of that milestone is equally exciting. After a three-week break, in which he looks forward to helping his dad with the new deli/convenience store he opened in Bridgeport, Joey will begin his new job as part of the Risk Management team at Kolmar Americas. Joey interned in Kolmar’s accounting and operations department last summer through the HGFA Career Launch program, another link in the chain of support leading to his success. “Already knowing the people, the place, and the Kolmar operation,” Joey acknowledges, gives him “a comfort level few college graduates have entering the workforce.”
Joey Burns made the most of every gift he was given and is now encouraging other Horizons students to do the same. That is something we can all celebrate. Congratulations, Joey, on your college graduation, your new role at Kolmar, and all the adventures to come!