ST. PHILIP’S COLLEGE RECEIVES $80,000 GRANT TO MENTOR STUDENTS AT HIGHLANDS, BRACKENRIDGE AND SAM HOUSTON HIGH SCHOOLS

College students to earn part-time wages as mentors for high school students

SAN ANTONIO (Oct. 6, 2009) --- St. Philip’s College is one of the 2009 recipients of a state grant to nurture a college-going culture among high school students in Texas.

The college recently received an $80,000 Work Study Student Mentorship Program grant from the State of Texas.

“We are excited to receive the grant to hire St. Philip’s College students part-time to work in high schools in the St. Philip’s College service area---such as Highlands, Brackenridge and Sam Houston---to directly provide high school students there with the facts about higher education beyond high school,” said Ana Lisa Garza, Director of Student Services.

“The funding will also allow our current students to receive part-time wages in return for shaping the decisions of many potential college students while they are still in high school,” Garza said.

The Work-Study Student Mentorship program was passed by the Texas Senate in 2007 to pay college students to mentor or counsel students at high schools or in high school-based college recruiting centers that exist to improve student access to higher education, Garza explained.

Potential students who visit these recruiting centers receive information to include the latest college selection, application and financial aid processes, explained Garza.

Websites/Resources related to this story include:

1) St. Philip’s College
 

About St. Philip’s: Bishop James Steptoe Johnston of the St. Philip’s Episcopal Church of the West Texas Diocese founded St. Philip’s College in 1898. Today, St. Philip’s College, a member of the Alamo Colleges, is a multi-campus institution and serves a semester enrollment of more than 11,000 credit and more than 8,000 continuing education students. St. Philip’s College is a Historically Black College and Hispanic Serving Institution. As “A Point of Pride in the Community,” St. Philip’s College is among the oldest and most diverse community colleges in the United States.