Not for publication
Join the Carolina College Advising Corps for a celebration of education in Robeson County
(Chapel Hill, N.C. – Feb. 12, 2015) – The media is invited to join the Carolina College Advising Corps for a celebration of education in Robeson County on Monday, Feb. 16 at 10 a.m.
WHAT: Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admissions will host a special event to celebrate the partnership between the Carolina College Advising Corps and local education supporters, including the high schools served by the Corps: Purnell Swett High School, Fairmont High School and South Robeson High School.
Funded by grants and private gifts and based in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill, the Corps aims to help low-income, first-generation and under-represented students attend college by placing UNC-Chapel Hill graduates in selected high schools across the state.
WHEN: Monday, February 16, 2015 at 10 a.m.
WHERE: Purnell Swett High School, 11344 Deep Branch Road, Pembroke, NC
WHY: Nationally, first-generation college students enroll in college at a lower rate—often because of difficulty navigating systems and lack of awareness about opportunities. Less than 50% of low-income students admitted to a post-secondary institution end up enrolling; and less than one in 12 graduate. Nearly sixty percent of North Carolina jobs will require a college degree by 2018.
HOW: Carolina College advisers foster a college-going culture by placing advisers who are close in age and circumstance to the students they serve. Advisers help students identify and apply to post-secondary programs that will best serve them, both academically and socially, to increase success and retention once they enroll. For 2014-15, 42 advisers are serving 59 high schools in 22 counties.
RESULTS: Last year, the Corps helped 4,110 high school seniors across the state submit more than 16,000 applications to college. Students enroll at colleges ranging from their local community college to N.C. Wesleyan to Morehouse College and UNC-Chapel Hill, to name just a few. Advisors in Robeson County high schools served 645 seniors, held 1,148 one-on-one individual meetings, and in partnership with the schools, helped 57 percent submit an application to college.
KEY ATTENDEES:
Stephen Farmer, Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admissions
U.S Representative Richard Hudson
N.C. Senator Jane W. Smith
N.C. Representative Garland Pierce
Representative Ken Waddell
Clyde Leviner, Principal, Purnell Swett High School
Paul Brooks, Lumbee Tribal Chairman
Yolanda Keith, Director, Carolina College Advising Corps
Victoria Chavis, Corps Adviser, Purnell Swett High School
Jessica Oxendine, Corps Adviser, Fairmont High School and South Robeson High School
-Carolina-
Event contacts: Ashley Memory (919) 843-2531 or Julie Tucker, at event, (919) 259-5217.