Twenty-five former NAI scholars graduated from USC in 2009, 22 earning undergraduate degrees and three receiving master�s degrees in social work. Here, 12 of the newly minted graduates gather with Abi Ingleton (director of the Undergraduate Success Program) for a photo on Commencement Day, May 15. Pictured are (back row, from left) Angel Haro, Carlos Chavez, Ivonne Polanco, Emmanuel Gutierrez, Sandra Alvarez (Class of 2006, USC MSW �09), Marlene Chavez (Class of 2007, MSW �09; sister of Carlos Chavez), Abi Ingleton and Enrique Rodriguez; and (front row, from left) Alberto Haro, Diana Sanchez, Enia Arevalo, Nancy Sanchez and Liza Cortez. (photo by Dietmar Quistorf)
College
USC is there to help with the challenges young people face when they do things their parents never did - like going to the university or pursuing a graduate degree.
For first-generation college students, a successful transition to higher education may require guidance not only about how to navigate a whole new academic world, but also about how to overcome home and family pressures. USC reaches out to these students in several ways:
- The SCholars Program, launched in spring 2006 with support from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, provides a bridge to USC by reaching out to high-achieving, first-generation, low- to moderate-income students at local community colleges and providing campus tours as well as one-on-one counseling and workshops on topics ranging from how to apply to how to secure funding. SCholars who are accepted to USC receive additional assistance, including success seminars, coaching services and general advising.
- USC’s Undergraduate Success Program provides counseling, mentoring and academic support services for Neighborhood Academic Initiative graduates who have been admitted to USC, as well as for those enrolling at other colleges and universities.
- The McNair Scholars Program, one of the federally funded TRIO programs at USC, offers assistance to low-income, first-generation college-goers and undergraduates who are members of groups that are underrepresented in graduate education, helping prepare them for graduate studies at the doctoral level. Since 1996, USC’s McNair Scholars Program each year has selected 20 undergraduates to conduct a 10-week summer research project under the guidance of a USC faculty mentor. The program provides a $2,800 stipend to enable each scholar to concentrate on his or her research.
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Featured Program
SummerTIME
The USC Rossier School of Education’s SummerTIME program is a month-long intensive writing seminar for high school seniors from east and south Los Angeles who plan to enter a four-year college or university in the fall.
