The Community Scholars program will use a $105,000 grant given to the University’s Center for Minority Educational Affairs to expand its curriculum and program length.
The Community Scholars Program consists of a group of approximately 50 minority students who attend a three-week program before the beginning of each school year to acquaint them with the academic and social atmosphere of campus.
Students enroll in one three-credit English class during the program. According to an April 8 press release, the money from the grant was given to CMEA by the Buck Foundation. The grant will enable program organizers to add an additional academic component for participants, according to CMEA Director Dennis Williams.
Administrators hope that expansion of academic coursework by 2003 will more adequately prepare students for their first year.
“Currently the core of the program is a three-credit hour critical reading and writing course,” said David Rivera, student services coordinator for CMEA. “The intent behind expanding the program to four weeks is to provide additional tutorials and course work in various academic subjects, such as calculus, economics and accounting.”
The Community Scholars Program is beneficial in social as well as academic areas, said Jessica Rucker (SFS ‘05), who attended in July 2001. Students meet with deans, professors, CMEA staff and peer advisers, and have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with campus, Rucker said.
“One strong point about the Community Scholars Program is that the participants are more acclimated to Georgetown life than non-participants,” Rivera said.
“The social component helped me a lot. I’m glad I got the chance to meet so many people with different views. It helped prepare me for the greater community,” Rucker said.
Rucker said that taking an economics class or another core requirement would have helped her more easily adjust to Georgetown.
“Especially for people that aren’t majoring in [science or math] it would be extremely helpful to get some preparation in required math or science classes,” said Luis Torres (CAS ‘05), who also attended Community Scholars in 2001.
The additional week will help to spread out the academic work, which consists of writing several papers over books each week, said Torres.
Torres said that the number of student participants may also go up in the future, as there are many more students who could potentially benefit from the program.
The Community Scholars program has been funded by the University for 20 years, according to Rivera. It was originally an initiative to retain accepted African-American students who might not have chosen Georgetown for various reasons, Williams said. It has since been expanded to include all minority students as well as international students.
Through similar grants CMEA covers costs of the program for attending students, Torres said.
“It was reaching out to students who tend not to come, although they are accepted and are qualified,” he said. “A lot of Community Scholars have the same background … first-generation college students.”
The feelings of community created in the program are strong among students and faculty.
“Most of my friends are Community Scholars,” Torres said. “We keep in touch.”
“It has been truly a pleasure to work with the Scholars, and it is quite honestly what motivates to stay working at Georgetown,” Rivera said.
