FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                    Contact: Janelle Bird, Director of Community Relations & Communication
August 13, 2018                                           Phone/Email: 707.468.3012/jbird@mendocino.edu

MENDOCINO COLLEGE RECIEVES AT&T FUNDING FOR FIRST YEAR INSTITUTE PROGRAM

Mendocino College President Arturo Reyes has announced that AT&T has granted $20,000 to be awarded to the institution’s First Year Institute program (FYI) to further support student academic success. Mendocino College’s FYI program aims to support, understand and enhance the first-year college experience of first generation students, through targeted cohorts, mentored by academic and counseling faculty with follow-up services that ensure student guided college entry and successful goal completion.

Mendocino College’s FYI project is funded through a Hispanic Serving Institute (HSI) grant and offers a summer bridge program that prepares students in foundational skills courses, such as English and mathematics. The bridge is a 2-week program that provides students the essential tools and resources to be successful in English and math classes for the fall term. AT&T funds will be utilized to provide scholarships in the amount of $200 for each FYI student who participated in the English Summer Bridge and/or MESA Summer Math Institute to offset the cost of registration, supplies, and income lost from attending during work hours as well as to supplement the cost of tuition for the fall. AT&T grant monies are providing scholarships for 100 students who participated in the 2018 FYI English Summer Bridge and MESA Summer Math Institute, which ran from the end of July to the beginning of August.

 “Receiving this grant has increased the participation rate in our English Summer Bridge and MESA Summer Math Institute,” Says Monica Flores, FYI/HSI Grant Program Manager. “It provided a wonderful incentive, which facilitated students taking time off work in order to gain valuable skills needed for college success.”

The Mendocino College Ukiah Campus is located at 1000 Hensley Creek Road, Ukiah. www.mendocino.edu