First Generation College Student Initiative Update
2005-2006 Grant Year
The first full semester is drawing to a close for the initial cohort of the First Generation College Student Initiative, and the Foundation staff is pleased that the students are doing well with their studies and benefiting from the program. The FGCSI marketing campaign is in full swing, and program coordinator Mito Espinoza reports that through October, the program had reached out to more than 2,500 people in the Waco area through presentations to students, counselors, parents, and community members. Espinoza receives 5-10 inquiries per week about the program, which promotes the importance of college to the community's first-generation families.
2006-2007 Grant Year
In September, Foundation staff members were excited to learn the Foundation had been awarded a second grant of $123,979 from TG Benefits to continue the First Generation program for 2006-2007. Phase II funding will sustain the program through the fall of 2007 by providing need-based financial aid, direct services to students and families, project-related recruitment materials, and a continuation of the summer bridge program. Phase II will also include three major new initiatives:
- Establish school-centered SAT/ACT summer workshops to help prepare high school students for these important college placement tests.
- Working with Parents for Public Schools, the program will launch a college hotline to assist parents and students with general college information.
- Perform a research survey titled "Hispanic Parent Perceptions about Higher Education" that will be designed by MCC and administered in cooperation with the Waco Independent School District and MCYC. Survey results will be used to develop future programming, marketing, and recruitment activities for this population.