{"id":641,"date":"2012-05-08T12:41:15","date_gmt":"2012-05-08T12:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=641"},"modified":"2015-07-25T13:10:37","modified_gmt":"2015-07-25T17:10:37","slug":"graduates-of-rappahannock-scholars-program-head-toward-new-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2012\/05\/08\/graduates-of-rappahannock-scholars-program-head-toward-new-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduates of Rappahannock Scholars Program Head Toward New Opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amber Harris ranked among the top of her class at Northumberland County High School but she wasn\u2019t sure she\u2019d be able to follow her dream of a higher degree.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
(from left) Shanita Mitchell, Charnele Young, Amanda Jenkins and Amber Harris<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIf I hadn’t received a scholarship, I may not have had the opportunity to go to college,” said Harris, a 2012 graduate of the University of Mary Washington.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, May 12, she walked across the stage on UMW\u2019s Fredericksburg campus to receive her bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology, making her the first in her family to graduate from college.<\/p>\n

Harris is one of four inaugural graduates of Rappahannock Scholars, a program that mentors and provides financial aid to promising underserved students from the Northern Neck region of Virginia. She and fellow graduates Shanita Mitchell, Amanda Jenkins and Charnele Young have excelled at UMW and each has carved a distinct niche for herself.<\/p>\n

Harris has worked as an aide in the Admissions Office since her sophomore year.\u00a0 She recently presented her semester-long research about the effects of family, peer and individual attitudes on satisfaction in interracial romantic relationships at the psychology department\u2019s Psi Chi Symposium. She\u2019s a member of the scholarship and service fraternity Alpha Mu Sigma and plans to pursue a master\u2019s degree in human resources.<\/p>\n

The Rappahannock Scholars program began in 2007 when Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Rita Thompson noticed a lack of applicants from the Northern Neck region of Virginia.\u00a0 The initiative aids the often difficult transition from high school to college, offering financial aid and guaranteed admission to talented students within the counties of Essex, Westmoreland, Northumberland, Lancaster, King and Queen, and Rappahannock.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re amazing,\u201d Thompson said of the graduating seniors. \u00a0\u201cThese stars pushed through when it wasn\u2019t an easy thing to do.\u00a0 They were at the very top of their class.\u201d<\/p>\n

Currently, the program comprises 21 students at UMW and 66 high school students.\u00a0 Ninety percent of high school students in the program have continued to a four-year college.<\/p>\n

For Shanita Mitchell of Kilmarnock, UMW gave her the chance to recognize and cultivate her passions.<\/p>\n

She discovered dance her sophomore year and soon realized her love for the art.\u00a0 Now, she is a choreographer for the Performing Arts Club, vice president of Praise Dance and assistant to the Alter Ego Step Team, where she choreographs and gives feedback to the performers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned to be around different people, because I came from a small town where everyone was the same,\u201d Mitchell said.\u00a0 \u201cBeing at Mary Washington, since it was smaller, I feel like I had a lot of leeway to grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

An English major, she aims to become an African-American literature professor.\u00a0 In fact, Thompson said Mitchell is considered by her professors as more of a colleague than a student. Mitchell plans to attend Virginia Commonwealth University next spring.<\/p>\n

For Amanda Jenkins of Westmoreland County, the guidance and relationships she gained as a Rappahannock Scholar helped ease her transition into college.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Rappahannock Scholars group isn\u2019t just about the money\u2014the family I\u2019ve made with the people involved is irreplaceable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Jenkins will start a full-time position as a software engineer with an information technology company in Dahlgren this summer, an offer that came after a semester-long internship with the company while a student. Her burgeoning career and her goal of graduate school are opportunities she cultivated as a Rappahannock Scholar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I\u2019m a more successful, well-rounded person because of the program and because of Mary Washington,\u201d Jenkins said.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s pointing me toward a brighter future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charnele Young entered UMW a year later than the other three students and graduated a year early with a degree in psychology.\u00a0 She earned college credit at Northumberland High School and took summer classes at UMW each year. In her last semester, Young tutored a boy with Asperger\u2019s Syndrome through the Comprehensive Autism Partnership, helping him develop literal thinking and social skills.<\/p>\n

Young plans to continue the internship, and either take courses to become certified as an applied behavioral analyst, or go to graduate school at Ball State University.<\/p>\n

\u201cMary Washington has been life changing,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cIt has opened plenty of doors and opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amber Harris ranked among the top of her class at Northumberland County High School but she wasn\u2019t sure she\u2019d be able to follow her dream of a higher degree. \u201cIf I hadn’t received a scholarship, I may not have had the opportunity to go to college,” said Harris, a 2012 graduate of the University of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[22],"class_list":{"0":"post-641","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"tag-rita-thompson","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGraduates of Rappahannock Scholars Program Head Toward New Opportunities - 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