Local program nudges 21st Century Scholars to graduate from college
SOUTH BEND ― Reagan Ayala has seen fellow 21st Century Scholars struggle to stay in one of Indiana's best deals in college education ― the possibility of free tuition ― because of issues such as mental illness.
Her own boyfriend had struggled with gender identity at one point, and, she said, “the strain of everything” caused him to fall behind and lose his 21st Century scholarship.
“Sometimes the world beats you down,” she said. “Things still happen to you. You don’t know if you want to stay (in the program).”
He’s still in college. So is Ayala, an Adams High School grad who’s now a junior studying communications at Indiana University South Bend and keeping up her “straight B” average.
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In fact, she’s one of 20 fellows in a recent initiative from the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County that’s aimed at a long-time problem for 21st Century Scholars: students that either failed to sign up by the eighth-grade deadline or failed to stick with the program’s requirements.
Like all other 21 Century Scholars, Ayala qualified because of her family’s income. She was among seven kids at home ― including five adopted siblings ― while her mom was in college and her dad worked at a nonprofit.
As a fellow, she and other select 21st Century Scholars go into middle schools and high schools to encourage and mentor younger students to enroll and to stay with it. They meet students who think college is too far off, who question, “Why do I need to think about this now?”
She believes she’s getting through to them.
Before it's too late
Community Foundation President Rose Meissner said it launched the initiative in 2019 because, after more than 25 years of spurring educational efforts, it realized that the community wasn’t doing enough “to be sure students knew about it (21st Century Scholars) and signed up.”
“Too many students don’t find out about it until they’re in high school,” she said. “They hear about it from fellow students. By then, it’s too late.”
Along with the fellows program, the 21st Century Scholar Success Initiative leads a coalition of 20 local school districts, colleges, universities, youth organizations and economic development agencies to encourage and support the scholars. It launched with a $4 million grant from the Lilly Endowment in Indiana, which now finances the initiative until June 2025. Meissner said the foundation plans to raise an endowment to sustain the initiative’s work beyond that.
Since the initiative started three years ago, she said, enrollment of 21st Century Scholars in St. Joseph County has grown by 65%, from fewer than 500 eighth-graders to more than 800.
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Now the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, which runs all of the state’s financial aid programs, has proposed automatically enrolling all students who qualify for 21st Century Scholars by the eighth grade, rather than relying on the students to apply. That will depend on whether it also gains support from the Indiana General Assembly.
“We think auto-enroll would be terrific," Meissner said.
By eliminating this initial hurdle, she said, it would allow the local partners to focus on the “more difficult” steps of ensuring the students’ success.
Local progress
While in high school, students must maintain a 2.5 GPA as they avoid crime, alcohol and illicit drugs and complete 12 activities that are designed to keep them on track. Once the activities are completed, Meissner said, the state has found that 81%of students go on to enroll in college.
“That’s mind boggling, given that most of them are coming from low-income and non-college families,” she said. “It’s also an important discussion because of the declining number of students overall who are enrolling in college, which is exacerbated by the pandemic.”
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And, with full-ride scholarships for many of them ― as long as they complete 30 credit hours each year of college and graduate on time ― she said that’s noteworthy given the recent news and talk about college student debt.
It’s early yet, but Meissner said that the initiative has “absolutely seen progress,” citing that in St. Joseph County the number of students completing the program’s 12 required activities in high schoolrose from 54% in 2021 to 63% in 2022.
This spring, the initiative started “success fests” ― to be held twice a year ― where 21st Century Scholars students come to the St. Joseph County Public Library’s Community Learning Center to complete eight of the 12 activities. The next one will be Dec. 3.
Another fellow in the local initiative, Julian Garcilazo, said the activities are “really not that hard,” each taking no more than five to 10 minutes, such as watching a video, but, he said, they made a difference for him. They gave him important information ― such as guidance on filing financial aid forms ― that his parents couldn’t because they hadn’t graduated from college.
Like Ayala, Garcilazo made sure that he signed up for 21st Century Scholars and that he went to college. Both Ayala and Garcilazo have an older sibling in the program.
Garcilazo, a St. Joseph High School graduate who’s now a junior at Holy Cross College, said he wouldn’t have been able to afford it. Ayala said her mom probably would have helped with the cost, but it would have been a struggle.
21st Century Scholars covers up to 100% of tuition for a two- or four-year degree at one of Indiana’s public colleges or universities, or the equivalent amount at a private institution. It doesn’t cover room, board, books and certain other fees.
The foundation fellows receive an extra $5,000 per year to help with other financial needs they have. Fellows must attend college in St. Joseph Countyand participate in programs to develop their skills in leadership, career exploration and networking.
“These are students that are likely to stay in the community … and also help the community to thrive,” Meissner said.
The cool mentor
Garcilazo feels like he’s connecting with younger students, who see him as cool because he’s in college while not being so old that he’d be like their parents.
“The schools we go to, you can sense from the individuals in low-income families that they don’t think college education is something they can reach,” he said. “That affects their coursework. They don’t put themselves into it.”
Like Ayala, he can relate to what it was like in eighth grade, “shutting off our minds” to college, which seemed like it was far in the future.
In return, he said, his service as a fellow and mentor immerses him in the community, where he’s made connections with professionals in and out of the schools. His major is clinical psychology.
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“It’s made my skills more dominant,” he said. “Coming into my freshman year, I was more reserved. Now I’m a more talkative person. … I’m able to make my personality known. That helps me to make a better connection with people in the various schools I go to.”
As a fellow, Ayala said, she’s discovered: “I really do want to work with students. I want to help people with their own academic success.”
Asked what the initiative could do to help students more, she said, “I wish more schools would let us in to hear what we have to say.”
∎ Learn more about 21st Century Scholars: Visit learnmoreindiana.org/scholars.
Contact staff writer Joseph Dits at 574-235-6158 or jdits@sbtinfo.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: 21st Century Scholars helped by Community Foundation St. Joseph County
