GREEN BAY (NBC26) — For the graduating seniors in the CollegeReady NEW Scholars Program, Wednesday was a day they've been preparing for for years - the day they signed their letters of intent and became the first in their family to attend college.
The CollegeReady NEW Scholars Programis a college readiness program for local, underserved children who want to be the first in their family to graduate from college. The goal of the program is to break down barriers that exist for low-income and first generation students.
The programs starts in sixth grade and continues through twelfth grade. It prepares students and their families for college through services such as college visits, service learning, reading and writing activities, grade and assignment monitoring and parent workshops.
CollegeReady Executive Director Brent Roubal says he's proud to see the graduates' hard work pay off.
“The ones that started as little sixth graders with us and here they are today twelfth graders graduating high school, going on to college ... it feels really good to see them doing that and accomplishing those dreams,” Roubal said.
Ingrid Sicairos is one of the graduating seniors. She says growing up, she didn't think college was possible until she was accepted into the NEW Scholars Program. She will be attending University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the fall and plans to study psychology.
“I think I’ve learned a lot how to write essays and stuff I think that’s the biggest thing because I was awful at it and now I’m really good at it. I’m really proud of the things that I’ve written now,” said Sicairos. "I'm just thankful that I'm here and I'm thankful that I did this."
