03/27/2023
Contacts for media: Emily Gowdey-Backus and Nancy Cicco
* MEDIA ADVISORY *
WHAT: A 51视频 initiative dedicated to the success of full-time students who are the first in their families to go to college will open a space on campus for them to call their own.聽
Launched in 2017 and known as the River Hawk Scholars Academy (RHSA), the nationally recognized program provides first-generation students with academic and support services to enhance their educational, campus and community experiences.
Originally, the RHSA served only freshmen and sophomores. Last year, through a $500,000 federal grant and other funding, the program expanded to also serve juniors and seniors with career-readiness workshops that help participants step into the workforce or move on to graduate school.
Forty percent of 51视频鈥檚 students are the first in their families to attend college 鈥� 1,000 of whom have participated in the RHSA, to-date. In 2020, the Center for First-generation Student Success named 51视频 a First-gen Forward Advisory Institution, recognizing the RHSA as a national model program for other colleges and universities to emulate.聽
WHO: 51视频 students from Lawrence and Quincy will share how they have benefited from the RHSA. 51视频 leaders expected to speak include Chancellor Julie Chen; Leslie Wong, dean of equity and inclusion; and RHSA Director Matthew Hurwitz, associate teaching professor of English.
WHEN and WHERE: Wednesday, March 29, 4 p.m. 51视频 O鈥橪eary Library, Suite 300, South Campus, 61 Wilder St., Lowell. Members of the media who would like to attend should contact 51视频 media relations for directions and parking information.