Diversity & Inclusion
Education / Universities / Youth

Delaware College Scholars program empowers ‘locked out’ students

Twenty-five students graduate from a unique college-prep program.

Students graduate from the Delaware College Scholars Program on June 17, 2018. (Courtesy photo)

Twenty-five rising college freshmen celebrated a different kind of graduation on June 17, from the rigorous Delaware College Scholars program.

The program serves 10th–12th-grade students from under-resourced backgrounds, many of whom are the first in their family to attend college. Graduates spent three weeks, three summers in a row, in a residential cohort-based program at St. Andrew’s School in Middletown. The immersive program includes mentorship, help with financial aid and scholarships, college visits, relationship-building and an intensive reading, writing and discussion-based curriculum.

“Delaware College Scholars provides a unique program that empowers first-generation college-bound high school students as well as those traditionally locked out or marginalized by the system. It is a rare asset to our state, and its students are tomorrow’s leaders,” remarked the graduation’s keynote speaker, Delaware State University Provost Dr. Tony Allen.

Ninety-two percent of Delaware College Scholars have gone on to a four-year institution of higher education, compared to 8 percent of Delaware students from low-income families who attend four-year institutions of higher education across the board.

This year’s graduates are:

  • Javier Aviles, William Penn High School (U.S. Air Force)
  • Derricka Benson, Dickinson High School (Morgan State University)
  • Jadyn Brown, Caesar Rodney High School (Salisbury University)
  • Sephora Cain, Appoquinimink High School (Washington College)
  • Nywel Cheaye, MOT Charter High School(Vassar College)
  • Erin Chism, Howard High School of Technology (Neumann University)
  • Damien Cook, William Penn High School (Johnson and Wales University)
  • Alexis Cope, Mount Pleasant High School (University of Delaware)
  • Delvin Doe, Conrad Schools of Science (University of Delaware)
  • Jordyn Foster, McKean High School (Temple University)
  • Chyna Gibbs, Dover High School (North Carolina A&T)
  • Nyra Giles, Laurel High School (University of Delaware)
  • Nathaniel Hall, Milford High School (Delaware Technical Community College)
  • Ricki Holleger, POLYTECH High School (Delaware State University)
  • Aliana Marrero, A.I. duPont High School (University of Delaware)
  • Temilade Ogunfadebo, William Penn High School( University of Delaware)
  • Simon OrtizMiddletown High School(Cornell University)
  • Erick Ortiz-Rivera, Smyrna High School (Delaware Technical Community College)
  • Yesenia Ramirez-Montaño, Cape Henlopen High Scool (U.S. Army)
  • Tyler Richardson, Mount Pleasant High School (Delaware College of Art and Design)
  • Alexzander Salmorbekov, Concord High School (University of Delaware)
  • Mya Spangenberg, Caesar Rodney High School (Washington College)
  • Nina Spruill, Middletown High School (University of Delaware)
  • Kaliyah Weldin, Dover High School (Wesley College)
  • Emountey White, Delcastle Technical High School (Bryn Athyn College)
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