On Friday, July 13, 2012, 71 high school students from 23 different states, plus China and South Korea will graduate from Calvin's Entrada Scholars program.
Entrada, which is Spanish for "gateway," is a merit-based grant program that brings exceptional ethnic minority high school students to Calvin for a month-long summer college immersion experience. Since June 17, the students have lived in the residence halls, eaten in the dining halls, taken a college course and participated in a number of activities, all alongside college students. The scholars were also each assigned an academic coach, who attended class with them and led study groups afterwards.
Tasha Cruz, Calvin's associate director of college readiness programs, says that the faculty and staff's commitment to Entrada is integral to the program's success.
"They see the students through the lens of success," said Cruz. "They set very high expectations for them. They care about their learning. They care about them as people. The students have a community of support."
At 11 a.m. on Friday in Calvin's Gezon Auditorium (located in the Spoelhof Center), the students will receive their graduation certificates in the presence of those Calvin faculty and staff members who supported them this past month as well as their family and friends.
"The Entrada staff and the faculty teaching the courses have high expectations of the scholars from the start. And without fail, students not only meet those expectations, but exceed them both inside and outside the classroom," said Cruz. "We are all equally excited to see them accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. And we are certain that the knowledge, skills and positive relationships they've developed during this month will serve them well as they continue to purse some form of postsecondary education."
In its 26th year, Entrada has produced impressive results. Ninety-five percent of students who have gone through the program and have completed high school have pursued some form of higher education. Roughly half of the students have returned to Calvin for their college careers.
For more information, visit http://www.calvin.edu/entrada or contact the office of pre-college programs at 616-526-6749.
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Received on Thu Jul 12 08:27:37 2012
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