For the third year, the Academic STARS _ Students Achieving and Reaching Success _ program will help newly enrolled African-American freshmen make a home at West Virginia University.
The Center for Black Culture and Research leads the program, which helps students build a solid academic foundation, develop self-awareness and enhance leadership potential.
The program will run from Sunday (June 26) through July 30, and offers a one-credit course, four workshops and a variety of social and cultural activities.
Students are also required to participate in a “Rites of Passage” program, which is built on the knowledge obtained in their required classes. The program continues throughout the fall, and students will have additional requirements such as attending related cultural programs and mandatory study tables. For this effort, students will receive a spring book scholarship, which they may use in the WVU Bookstore.
This program is fully funded, and students only need additional money for their personal needs. To be eligible for the STARS Program, the student must be a first year African-American student who is carrying at least a 2.75 GPA in high school. The student must also have transcript evidence of extra-curricular activities or verifiable proof of some type of community service.
STARS consists of five weeks of education that include an English class and various workshops on topics that vary from African-American studies and student financial management. Students live in the residence halls with former STARS participants as mentors for the summer program, participate in cultural activities that will continue into their first year at WVU, and go on group trips.
“I am very proud of all of the STARS participants, and I am pleased that so many of them from 2009 and 2010 are still engaged with the program, and working hard to help this group of students move successfully through their experience here at WVU,” said Marjorie Fuller, director of the Center for Black Culture and Research.
This year’s class has 23 students, up from 20 last year.
-WVU-
ta/06/23/11
CONTACT: Marjorie Fuller, Center for Black Culture and Research
304.293.7029, Marjorie.Fuller@mail.wvu.edu
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