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July
2005
Opening Doors
Pomona's Summer Scholars program helps promising teens get ready for
college. |
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It’s always a big moment when the high-school students in Pomona
College’s Summer Scholars program are handed the keys to the dorm rooms
they’ll be living in for a month.
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Small classes are key to Pomona's Summer Scholars
program. |
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“It absolutely stuns them,” says Motts Thomas, director of community
programs. “'Is this real? Am I going to have my very own room?’”
In its third year, Pomona College’s Summer Scholars program is designed
to open doors to college for promising high school students.
Participants come
from socioeconomic and ethnic groups traditionally underrepresented at
schools such as Pomona.
Typically, they will be the first in their family to attend college.
More than 90 high school students are enrolled in the month-long program
that began in late June. Participants attend for three consecutive
summers, commuting to campus each weekday during their first year, then
living on campus in the residence halls during their second and third summers.
In small classes and discussion groups, students delve into everything
from algebra to SAT preparation to mock interviews with college
admissions officers. The primary focus is on math and writing, but
students also can explore electives in subjects such as music, theatre and
photography. Pomona professors and Pomona students, serving as teaching
assistants, work with the scholars in daily tutorial sessions.
 Francisco Suarez, a 15-year-old from Pomona High, enjoys the classroom
discussions. “Talking about gender and race and all that stuff is fun,”
he says.
In her third year with the program, Xoan Lam
of Pomona is enjoying living on a college campus. "I get to meet new
people and learn more about other schools," she said.
Participants come from as far away as Wilson High School in Los Angeles to
the west and A.B. Miller High in Fontana to the east. Most hail from a
closer-to-campus core of high schools such as Montclair, Pomona, Pomona
Catholic, Diamond Ranch (Diamond Bar) and Colony High (Ontario). More than 100 teens applied for the
36 slots open for this summer.
Overseeing the program, Thomas deals with a wide range of constituencies
on and off campus. He cultivates relationships with high school teachers
who point promising students toward the program. He talks to
participants' parents and works to keep students and their families connected to Pomona
during the regular school year.
”It’s Pomona’s way of nurturing and growing our own scholars,” said
Thomas. “There’s an investment in these kids and their families. It’s
such a beautiful thing.”
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Assistant Professor Marcelle Holmes leads a class
discussion. |
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This summer is special because the original group of students, 33 in
all, is completing its third and final year in the program. In the fall,
they will start their senior years in high school and will be applying
to colleges. Thomas hopes some of the students will wind up attending
Pomona.
The program is free of charge, but students only are invited back
each summer if they maintain academic excellence in high school.
Participants say the summer program helps them to do just that.
After studying algebra in the summer program, Treisi Ramirez found her
Algebra II class in high school was more like a review.
She cried her first day staying in the dorms this summer because she
missed her family. But she’s thankful to be able to participate in the
program. “I know it’s going to be very helpful for my college
experience,” said Ramirez, an 18-year-old from Montclair.
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