A June 14 ceremony in Whitley Auditorium served as the official welcome to Alamance County high school students taking part in the Elon Academy, a year round college enrichment program that brings teenagers to campus for a month each summer for an immersion experience in a university setting.
Elon Academy leaders introduced and welcomed the Gamma Class into the program. With 29 students, it is the largest class to date for the Academy, which also includes the Alpha and Beta classes. All told, the Academy, now at full enrollment, is comprised of 79 students.
University President Leo M. Lambert addressed the scholars with a charge to embrace challenges and aim for high goals.
“What a wonderful thing it is to see the promise on all 79 of your faces,” Lambert said as he encouraged students to remember they were hand selected for the program because of their talents and potential. “Smarts aren’t enough. You have to work hard.”
Elon launched the Elon Academy in 2006 to give students from local high schools the opportunity to embrace education, develop leadership skills and engage in various outreach venues.
Modeled after similar programs at Princeton, Furman and Vanderbilt universities, the Academy is a year-round program for students in the Alamance-Burlington School System who have financial need or have no family history of college attendance. It combines three intensive four-week summer residential experiences at Elon with a variety of academic activities throughout the school year.
Its goal is to inspire and empower students to attend four-year colleges or universities, and go on to assume leadership roles in their communities.
One highlight of the ceremony was the signing of the Call to Honor Book, which had been signed by the Alpha and Beta classes as a symbol of trust for the students. The 29 Gamma class members shook hands on stage with Lambert, fellow scholars and their mentors as they signed the book. They were also presented with a gold coin.
“Remain steadfast on this journey. Make the most out of opportunity,” said Kimberly Johnson, assistant director of college planning. “We are counting on you to be successful.”
The ceremony concluded with the recitation of the Elon Honor Code by all those in attendance and was followed by a picnic Under the Oaks.
“My freshman year I wasn’t really into my classes and I thought that’s not going to help me later on,” said Frank Garcia, a senior at Cummings High School and member of the Alpha Class. Garcia says the Elon Academy helped him broaden his perspective. “[I’ve learned] not to be biased or prejudge people and to have an open mind. At school, everyone has their own click, but here everyone has to be together.”
– Sarah Costello ’11
