For 35 years, Mason鈥檚 Early Identification Program has been helping Northern Virginia middle and high school students prepare for their future college careers.
Monica Amaya, a senior at Manassas Park High School in Virginia, balances studies and a job at a restaurant. In the fall, Amaya will be attending 亚洲AV and has been accepted into the . She credits Mason鈥檚 for getting her ready for college.
鈥淭he program pushed me, motivated me, throughout high school so I could set an example for my younger siblings and show that it is possible for us to achieve our dreams,鈥 says Amaya, who will be the first in her family to go to college. 鈥淲e can do anything if we work hard.鈥
There are thousands of Northern Virginia students like Amaya who can credit Mason鈥檚 EIP mentors and administrators for helping focus, encourage, and guide them through the rigors of high school academics and the maze of the college application process. The program specifically centers on lifting up both students from traditionally marginalized communities and those who will be the first in their families to attend college, also known as first-generation students.
The program was established in 1987 as the brainchild of then-Fairfax County Public Schools superintendent E. Wayne Harris and then-Mason president George Johnson. After more than 30 years, the program has grown into an innovative, multi-year college preparatory program for middle and high school students that is unique in the country not just for its breadth and reach, but also for the way it celebrates and embraces its students. That praise comes straight from EIP graduates, employees, and former director Lewis E. Forrest II, 鈥96, 鈥05.
鈥淭here are other precollege programs and success programs out there,鈥 says Forrest, now an associate dean in the at Mason. 鈥淏ut what makes EIP special is the level of care and commitment to these students. When they go through the program, students feel like they have a family at EIP, a family that cares deeply about how they are doing and seeing them succeed.鈥
At the time of EIP鈥檚 birth, there was a growing body of data showing that college student enrollment from marginalized communities was low in part because students were not getting the preparation they needed to attend college. Harris and Johnson determined that there had to be a way to help these students develop the skills they needed to both attend and succeed. Harris and Johnson partnered on an idea that initially centered on a summer academy to give students a chance to strengthen their academics in an encouraging environment.
鈥淔rom the start, Mason has believed in the program and cared about the community around them and finding ways to help,鈥 says EIP鈥檚 first director Hortensia Cadenas, BA 鈥80, MA 鈥93. 鈥淭hey saw a need in the community, and they did something about it.鈥
Funded by the , the pilot program reached 48 Fairfax County Public Schools students.
鈥淲ord spread quickly,鈥 says Cadenas, who was hired in 1989 and ran the program until her retirement in 2010. 鈥淥ther school systems started signing on. Arlington came next, then Prince William County.鈥
EIP now serves more than 700 students annually. The program provides access to educational resources for students from seven local public school systems, helping them acquire the skills they need to become lifelong learners, leaders, and responsible global citizens.
Students who are interested in the program apply during their seventh-grade year. If selected, they then spend the next five years in mentoring sessions, tutoring, a mandatory three-week summer academy, and additional programming intended to boost their academics, with a specific focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
鈥淥ver the past few years, we鈥檝e been fine-tuning the program, building its infrastructure, and deepening our engagement with students,鈥 says Khaseem Davis, . 鈥淚t is continuing to grow as we broaden the impact we have on students throughout the region.鈥
Davis credits Cadenas for growing the program early on. One of the first things Cadenas did as director was to increase opportunities for connections with students鈥 families.
鈥淲e added parenting and family classes so that we could establish communication with the parents, and they would [have opportunities to] understand how important college education was for their children鈥檚 future,鈥 Cadenas says. 鈥淲e needed to know that the students had support at home.鈥
After adding family classes, Cadenas says they began strengthening the academic opportunities, creating new weekend events for math and science review, along with opportunities to explore different careers. They found partnerships with local businesses and created college scholarship opportunities as well as tutoring jobs for EIP graduates attending Mason.
鈥淔or many of these students, being part of EIP is life-changing,鈥 says Rhina Alvarado, BA 鈥07, MEd 鈥21, EIP鈥檚 associate director. 鈥淲hile they were motivated before, they start to see a path for themselves and they have a community that cares whether they get there. They have people who engage holistically in their development into adults.鈥
As college applications become more onerous, there鈥檚 an even heavier focus on the logistics of the admissions process, including helping students and parents understand the implications of a financial aid package.
鈥淭he parents of our students may care deeply about their children going to college but often don鈥檛 have the experience or understanding of what the application process entails,鈥 says Alvarado. 鈥淲e can guide our students and their families in every aspect of the process. We put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into the success of every one of our students.鈥
One major benefit of participating in the program, alumni say, is establishing close friendships with students similarly motivated to excel.
鈥淚f you are a graduate of EIP, you still care deeply about the friendships you made during that time and about the program,鈥 says Alvarado, herself an EIP alum who holds two Mason degrees. 鈥淵ou have a loyalty you never forget.鈥
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This story originally ran in the Summer/Fall 2022 Mason Spirit.
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