Creating a Smoother Transition From High School to College

Tue, Jul 23, 2024

Four students pose on the Commons Lawn at Calvin University.

Hannah Jeong, Sam Abdalla, David Wandawa, and Abigail Puzemis are part of the 2024 Entrada Scholars Program at Calvin University.

Hannah Jeong, Abigail Puzemis, Sam Abdalla, and David Wandawa 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 racial and ethnic minority juniors and seniors in high school to experience what college life is like. For one month, 90 students from 15 states and six countries are taking a college course, participating in student life, and living on campus.

Going “back to school” just weeks after finishing up high school classes was not at the top of these four scholars’ summer bucket lists when they began Entrada in late June. A month later, they can’t imagine missing out on the experience.

Jeong, Puzemis, Abdalla, and Wandawa 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.)