Project TEACH, an incentive scholarship program at Hope College geared toward helping minority students become teachers, has chosen a third group of participating high school students.
The four new students--Marisol Lemus, Dinah Rios,
Adam Rodriguez and Pannha Sann--have joined the program
beginning with the new 1998-99 school year. They will be
recognized during a reception in the college's Maas Center
auditorium on Thursday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m.
The public is invited to the reception. Admission
is free.
The third group joins the program while a member
of the first--Meyly Sew of Holland, who was chosen as a high
school junior in 1996--begins her college career as a Hope
freshman.
Lemus, Rios and Rodriguez are all students at
Holland High School, and Sann is a student at West Ottawa
High School. Lemus is a junior, and Rios, Rodriguez and
Sann are sophomores.
"I am excited about the academic strength and
commitment to teaching that these young people have both
demonstrated and voiced," said Barbara Albers, director of
Project TEACH (Teachers Entering a Career Through Hope).
"They each seem to be committed and thrilled to have the
opportunity to fulfill their dream at Hope College. I know
each will develop into an excellent teacher."
"I am also very pleased to see Meyly Sew on Hope's
campus full-time this year," she said. "She has started
with a burst of enthusiasm and I know she will continue with
her usual dedication and commitment. I look forward to
Project TEACH's first graduate from Hope College in just
four short years."
Lemus is the daughter of Avelino and Maria Lemus
of Holland, Rios is the daughter of William and Cristina
Rios of Holland, Rodriguez is the son of Ruben and Renee
Rodriguez of Holland and Sann is the son of Ill Sann of
Holland and Song Sann of Holland.
Project TEACH provides instructional and mentoring
support for the high schoolers, who begin as sophomores and
juniors. The program also provides scholarship aid for the
participants as Hope students. The program's goal is to
help local students while increasing the number of
minorities who become teachers locally.
In addition to Sew, the continuing participants in
Project TEACH are Kristina Kyles, a junior at Holland High
School; Kristina Martinez, a junior at Holland High School;
Sonia Soto, a senior at Holland High School; and Dina
Vathanaphone, a junior at West Ottawa High School.