Creating a smooth on-ramp to college
(From left to right): Rayn Rutley, Emma Rodriguez, Landon Dykema, Kwesi Abban, Yohana Yigezu
Landon Dykema, Rayn Rutley, Yohana Yigezu, Emma Rodriguez, and Kwesi Abban have spent the past month on the campus of Calvin University through the Entrada Scholars Program.
Entrada, which means “gateway” in Spanish is one of Calvin’s premier College Access Programs. The academic program allows a cohort of juniors and seniors in high school who are committed to cross cultural engagement and racial reconciliation to experience what college life is like. For one month, 70 students from 20 states and five countries took a college course, participated in student life, and lived on campus.
Each chose to go “back to school” for a month over the summer for different reasons.
Dykema, Rutley, Yigezu, Rodriguez, and Abban reflect on how they discovered community, learned valuable skills, and gained confidence during their four-week adventure at Calvin University. (Note: Each graduate of the program has a $4,000 renewable scholarship automatically added to their financial aid package each year they attend Calvin.)
Q&As with 2025 Entrada Scholars
Landon Dykema (Hudsonville, Michigan)
Rayn Rutley (Fenton, Michigan)
Yohana Yigezu (Cairo, Egypt)
Emma Rodriguez (Bloomingdale, Illinois)
Kwesi Abban (Germantown, Maryland)
