Twenty-three Area Students Begin University of Success

Twenty-three rising high school students entered The University of Scranton’s University of Success program. The four-year, pre-college mentorship program began for the new participants with a two-week summer institute, which took place on the University’s campus in July.

The University of Success is an academic and enrichment program designed to provide academic, social, and cultural enrichment to area high school students. The program’s ultimate goal is to assist participating students to successfully complete high school and gain entrance into a college or university. Students enter the program at the completion of the eighth grade and continue through their high school years.

The summer institute provides learning experiences designed to engage the students in creative thinking, problem solving and communication through activities that expose students to concepts in various academic disciples.

The summer program featured presentations by University faculty, staff and students as well as counselors from Lackawanna County Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center. At the institute, students learned about alternate renewable energy sources, sustainability, climate change, physics, biology and chemistry, among other topics. The institute included field trips to Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC) in Pike County and the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The students also volunteered for a service project at the St. Francis of Assisi Soup Kitchen, which was covered in a WBRE/WYOU news story.     

Following the summer institute, the students meet monthly throughout their four years in high school.

The University of Success, offered free of charge to participants, is funded almost entirely by corporate and foundation grants. Donors to the program include AT&T, Dime Bank, Fidelity Bank, Charles A. Frueauff Foundation, Carl and JoAnne Kuehner, Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials, Inc., Overlook Estate Foundation, Peoples Security Bank and Trust, PPL Foundation, Lisa A. Thomas, M.D., and Waste Management.

Students entering the University of Success program are as follows:

Gabriela Avelar, who attended Abington Heights Middle School;

Lilyana Castellano, who attended Mid Valley Secondary Center;

Jazib Chohan, who attended Valley View Middle School;

Zion Colon, who attended Delaware Valley Middle School;

Kaitlyn Dos Santos, who attended Northeast Intermediate School;

Damien Galloway, who attended Wind Gap Middle School;

Gage Hernandez, who attended North Pocono Middle School;

Makenzie Lahotsky, who attended Riverside Junior Senior High School;

Melisa Lopez, who attended South Scranton Intermediate;

Kimberly Li, who attended North Pocono Middle School;

Dustin Machado Reed, who attended Valley View Middle School;

Yadiel Martinez, who attended Riverside Junior Senior High School;

Diana Munoz-Gonzalez, who attended Carbondale Area Junior Senior High School;

Stephen Quintilliano, who attended Abington Heights Middle School;

Neftali Ramos, who attended Abington Heights Middle School;

Quenton Reid, who attended Mid Valley Secondary Center;

Hector Rios, who attended West Scranton Middle School;

Ramon Sanchez, who attended West Scranton Middle School;

Tekoya Sanderson, who attended Carbondale Area Middle School;

Harper Sansky, who attended Mountain View School District;

Kayla Sterling, who attended Northeast Intermediate School;

Raelynn Taylor, who attended Tunkhannock School District;

Aleeya Williams, who attended Northeast Intermediate School;

Margaret Loughney serves as the program director for the University of Success.

For additional information, visit the University of Success web site.