October 1, 2024
The Meeting Street Scholarship Fund does more than award financial assistance; it provides ongoing support to students before and during their college journey.
This backing officially begins with the Scholarship’s annual summer Celebration Summit, which is organized for first-year recipients. The Summit allows recipients to network with one another and access knowledge and resources to support their transition to college.
Once students arrive on campus, the Scholarship Fund deploys additional support in the form of a partnership with Let’s Get Ready and its Campus Leader program.
“Our goal is for our first-year recipients to feel the support of the Scholarship Fund, regardless of where they are enrolled,” said John Huber-MacNealy, senior program director for the Scholarship Fund. “We want our Scholarship Recipients to keep our Scholarship and graduate from college, and we continue to explore ways to help recipients while they’re on campus.”
LET’S GET READY
The transition to college is challenging for all first-year students, but national research consistently indicates that first-generation college students and students who speak English as a second language are likely to encounter additional challenges.
The Meeting Street Scholarship Fund offers additional support to those students specifically, as well as a handful of others, by partnering with Let’s Get Ready, said Huber-MacNealy.
Let’s Get Ready is a national nonprofit dedicated to college access and persistence. It matches Scholarship recipients with an older college student who serves as a peer mentor.
These peer mentors, many of whom are also first-generation college students, send weekly text messages to their mentees and offer advice and support. Scholarship recipients can reply, ask questions and establish a two-way, text-based relationship, he said.
“We believe strongly that this extra layer of support will empower our recipients to overcome the additional challenges they may face, achieve academically and retain their Meeting Street Scholarship for their second year on campus,” Huber-MacNealy said.
CAMPUS LEADER PROGRAM
After piloting a Campus Ambassador program during the 2023-24 school year, Scholarship leaders refined its focus to support first-year freshmen.
The new Campus Leader program aims to provide more targeted and impactful assistance during this critical period of adjustment, said Shila Bair, program director for the Scholarship Fund. The goal is to help students maintain their academic eligibility while fostering positive social connections, she said.
“We learned that our recipients are eager for connection,” Bair said. “They crave a sense of belonging and connection, which is crucial for their personal and academic success on campus.”
A total of 15 Campus Leaders were selected to participate across the five schools with the most Scholarship recipients. Some campus leaders served as campus ambassadors last year while others were session leaders at the Scholarship’s Celebration Summit.
“Campus leaders are playing a crucial role in providing support, guidance and opportunities for first-year students to come together and build a strong community on campus,” she said. “These students demonstrated a strong ability to inspire and motivate their peers, as well as a genuine passion for making a positive impact on campus.”
Campus leaders are reaching out to recipients regularly, organizing outings and serving as a resource.
RESULTS THUS FAR
Meeting Street Scholarship Fund leaders are incredibly proud of recipients’ success and perseverance.
More than 90 percent of Scholarship recipients who have completed at least one year in college have graduated or are on-track to graduate. The same is true for first-generation college students and students who speak English as a second language.
“Our students are taking advantage of our support systems and those available to them on campus,” Huber-MacNealy said. “As a result, our recipients are thriving on campus and creating new pathways to fulfilling careers and prosperity.”
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