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High School Students Catch a Glimpse of College Life
7/19/2007
 The University of St. Thomas is giving high school students in the Houston area a chance to experience college life by hosting Project Grad/UST College Institute, a three-week summer program that offers underprivileged and minority students the opportunity to learn and study in a university setting. Project Grad, a nonprofit organization that seeks to increase high school graduation and college attendance rates by addressing issues that can hinder the achievement of underprivileged students, is sponsoring the program.
This year, 50 students from Reagan and Davis High Schools are taking classes in ethics, multicultural literature and computer literacy on the University’s campus. The courses provide the students with skills they will need to succeed in a college setting.
Project GRAD, which stands for Graduation Really Achieves Dreams, was founded in Houston more than 10 years ago. The program now operates in several other cities across the nation, helping to make high school graduation a reality for underprivileged students. Currently, only 53 percent of all public high school students from low-income families in the United States graduate.
The design of Project Grad/UST College Institute allows students, many of whom are the first generation in their families to consider college, to picture themselves in a university setting while solidifying the academic and social skills they will need to facilitate a seamless transition into the college arena. The School of Education’s Dr. Ana-Lisa Gonzalez is the on-campus coordinator and also teaches the ethics class.
“We are hoping to give these high school students a meaningful collegiate experience that will help them to recognize that they have the opportunity and ability to not only attend college, but also to succeed in attaining a degree,” Gonzales said. “At UST, we provide a unique and outstanding education for our students that includes not only content and basic knowledge, but also critical thinking skills and character development.”
 Reagan High School junior and Project Grad/UST College Institute participant Sydney Ricalday says she feels the program has encouraged her to consider college and has given her insight into what the whole experience is like.
“The program gives me more of an understanding of what to expect from college and what classes I should take,” Ricalday said.
Ricalday has known about UST since childhood and used to take field trips to the campus with her elementary school. She plans to apply to the University her senior year.
Project Grad has college scholarships available for students who have participated in the program.
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