Proudly on display in the African-American Scholars Program office is a list of colleges into which each student has been accepted, showcased for the whole world to see.

Founded in 2003, the AASP has been drawing participation from African-American and Latino students with GPAs of 2.7 or above.

Students meet four times a week: twice to receive academic counseling and twice to discuss important figures in African-American and Latino histories. The program aims to celebrate its students’ high achievement so they will work hard to inspire success in others.

“You’re telling kids, who are in a minority setting, that you come from a tradition and legacy of greatness, and that’s a message they’ve got to hear over and over again,” said African-American Scholars Program Director Chris Vick. “By senior year, hopefully they’ll realize, ‘I come from an incredible legacy and not only that, that means I am privileged or blessed or whatever you want to call it. You have people who sacrificed for me, and now it’s incumbent on me to do something great for somebody else.’”

Senior Anisa Noor feels that Vick encourages success in students through his own example.

“As minorities, some of us might live in a single-parent household, and we might not get the support we need,” said Noor. “Coming here, with a teacher who’s very well-educated, is a very good motivation.”

Sophomore Lesly Balanzar added that since joining the program, she has developed greater academic focus.

“I have to be more organized because I have people pushing me to do my best,” said Balanzar.

Vick ensures that students receive support outside the program by placing its students in the same classes, making them more likely to stick with an honors course.

“When you’ve got a cohort of folks with you, who we call brothers and sisters because the program is a family, they’re all in honors together. They’re studying together. They’re working hard, and they’re saying, ‘You know what, I’m going to hold you to a standard, and I’m going to help you stay here,’” said Vick. “We’re asking them to do something that’s revolutionary, that’s bucking a trend. I think you’ve got to have your cohort of folks with you.”

Balanzar especially likes this aspect of the program, having once experienced unfair treatment in a class where all of the other students were white.

“The teacher was a strict teacher, and she would talk to me nicely, but I didn’t want her to talk to me nicely because I felt like it was out of pity, as if she thought I didn’t belong in the class,” said Balanzar. “Ever since then, as a Latina, I just try to prove people wrong and say, ‘I’m not what you think I am. I’m not dumb, and I can certainly do things, and I can do them better than you expect.’”

Senior Beth Lazarus says that while seeing other students of color in her classes has not made her more comfortable, she still likes to see them there.

“I’ll be in honors English and there are always only one or two other minorities. It’s sad,” said Lazarus. “Lately, there have been more and more African-American students. It just makes me feel more proud that we’re really stepping up and challenging ourselves.”

Emma Nash can be contacted at [email protected].