MDC Launches Rising Black Scholars Program To Help Close Equity Gap
Miami Dade College is launching the Rising Black Scholars Program, an initiative that seeks to close equity gaps by offering full-tuition scholarships to 100 Black students graduating high school in 2021.
The scholarships will fund an associate’s degree of the student’s choice. It covers up to 30 credits annually and is available for up to two years. Scholars will receive a book stipend, laptop computer and other scholarship opportunities.
Funded by a $1 million donation from the MDC Foundation, the college-wide program will start this year during the Summer B semester.
“We prioritized our Black students and their educational attainment as an area that we wanted to focus on,” said College Provost Malou C. Harrison. “[This program] will provide all of the wraparound, holistic, academic and support services that we know will enable this population of students to excel and attain the degrees they need to become self-sufficient and contributing citizens of society.”
The scholars will receive personalized academic advisement, tutoring, peer mentoring, and extra-curricular and internship opportunities.
Plans for the initiative were born after MDC conducted a self-study that showed Black residents comprised 18 percent of Miami-Dade County’s population but only 15 percent of the College’s student body.
The study also showed that Black students are retained 11 percent less than their counterparts. They are also graduating five percent less than Hispanic students and 13 percent less than white students.
To spread the news out about the program, the College is reaching out to community groups whose mission is to support and advance Black student success such as the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, the Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce and the 100 Black Men of South Florida.
“We’re looking at a diverse mix of Black students who make up what our county looks like,” said Miguel Murphy, MDC’s new student center director at Wolfson Campus. “We want to take them as they are and foster growth and development. [The program] is going to be focused more on what support that we’re going to provide them.”
The deadline to apply for the RBSP is April 5. Applicants must graduate from a high school in Miami-Dade County this academic year and apply to be a student at MDC.
An essay, a letter of recommendation and an interview are required. There is no high school GPA requirement but students who are accepted into the program must maintain a 2.5 GPA throughout their time at MDC.
Students are also urged to submit their FAFSA for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years.
“[We want] students who have the potential but it’s probably not fully recognized by them or their teachers,” said Carlton Daley, who serves as the program director for TRIO Student Support Services. “Students we know with the right support and right conditions will do very well here at the College and then continue [to excel].”
For more information on the Rising Black Scholar initiative or to apply for the program, visit this link.
