NCAN Announces 2009 College Access Awards of Excellence

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 30, 2009                
CONTACT: Kim Kiely, (202) 347-4848
 

NCAN Holds Annual Awards of Excellence
Citi Foundation, Admission Possible
Receive College Access Awards of Excellence

WASHINGTON, DC – The National College Access Network (NCAN) is pleased to announce the recipients of its third annual Awards of Excellence. The awards were presented at the Annual Conference’s Awards of Excellence Brunch held on September 17, 2009 in San Francisco, CA.


The NCAN Board of Directors developed the NCAN Awards of Excellence to recognize excellence in college access organizations, staff, and executive or board leadership, and to recognize a Champion of College Access. All nominators and nominees, with the exception of the Champion of College Access recipient, must be NCAN members or board members in good standing. The nominees were reviewed by a committee of the NCAN member organizations. For more information on the Awards of Excellence, please visit http://www.collegeaccess.org/Awards.aspx.



Incorporated in 1995 and headquartered in Washington, DC, the mission of the National College Access Network (NCAN) is to improve access to and success in postsecondary education for disadvantaged, underrepresented, and first-generation students. NCAN does this by supporting a network of state and local college access programs that provide counseling, advice, and financial assistance; sharing best practices among the network; providing leadership and technical assistance; and helping establish new college access programs.

Champion of College Access
Citi Foundation of New York, NY
www.citigroupfoundation.com/citi/foundation

Citi Foundation is committed to the economic empowerment of individuals and families, particularly those in need. In 2007, it engaged in a strategic evaluation of its education giving with the goal of concentrating resources on one issue where it could have a substantial impact on a problem of national significance. This issue is access to and success in higher education for low-income and first-generation students. Since 2008, this organization has invested more than $17.4 million to establish and launch a new strategic focus within education. Citi Foundation funds several innovative programs and organizations that directly help address the barriers to college access and success for low-income and first generation students. The Foundation accomplishes these goals by building awareness of postsecondary education and career options; increasing academic readiness for college level work; assisting students through the college search, application and financial aid process; and providing financial education to families about saving for college and options for financing a college education.

The Champion for College Access Award recognizes an individual, organization, or corporation who has made remarkable contributions to “Changing the Face of Education.”

College Access Organization Award of Excellence
Admission Possible of St. Paul, Minnesota
www.admissionpossible.org

Admission Possible has a mission to make college admission possible for promising low-income students by providing ACT and SAT test preparation services and admissions and financial aid counseling. This program currently serves over 3600 current students and college-going alumni and has a success rate of getting 98% of program graduates into college. More than 80% of Admission Possible’s students are either pursuing college degrees or have graduated from college. Two programs out of state have replicated the model to build their curricula. Admission Possible has increased its students ACT scores by 22%.

The College Access Organization Award of Excellence recognizes the work of a college access program to fulfill NCAN’s mission to improve access to and success in postsecondary education for first-generation, underrepresented and low-income students.  Admission Possible received $7500 in scholarship money as well as one-thousand dollars toward general operating support, scholarships, and/or professional development. These funds came from an NCAN-administered scholarship fund set up by Nelnet and through a memorial fund that Board Member John Dean set up in honor of his father.

College Access Organization Award of Excellence Runner-Up
Associated Colleges of Illinois – College Readiness Program
www.acifund.org

The College Readiness Program, coordinated by the Associated Colleges of Illinois, is a four-year, year-round program for high school students. 99% of their students graduate from high school and 92% continue their education after high school. Of those students attending college, 64% graduate within six years, which is above the national average. The program provides academic enrichment, college preparation, and leadership development to low-income, minority, and first-generation students. Two peer affiliates, the Foundation for Independent Higher Education and the Iowa College Foundation have both modeled programs after this year’s recipient. ACI received $2500 in scholarship funds for their students in honor of this award and contributed to NCAN through Nelnet and the memorial fund for Board Member John Dean’s father. These funds came from an NCAN-administered scholarship fund set up by Nelnet and through a memorial fund that Board Member John Dean set up in honor of his father.

College Access Executive Leadership Award of Excellence
Monica Montenegro, Executive Director
East Bay Consortium / California Student Opportunity Assistance Program, Oakland, CA
www.eastbayconsortium.org

Ms. Montenegro, Executive Director of the East Bay Consortium / California Student Opportunity Assistance Program, has dedicated her career to education and became the Executive Director of the East Bay Consortium in 2000. During her tenure as Executive Director, her program has doubled its full time staff and quadrupled its college student interns, fought to secure cash matching contributions to continue programs during the economic downturn, obtained additional funding to maintain the Pre-Collegiate Academy program, established two college and career information centers in the Oakland Unified School District, served as regional coordinator for the California Cash for College Program, and established a program based scholarship.

The Executive Leadership Award of Excellence recognizes the dedication and hard work of an individual serving as a college access program’s Executive Director, President or as a member of its Board of Trustees or Directors. The East Bay Consortium received a $1,000 award in support of a new, one-time scholarship made in honor of the recipient.

Dr. David B. Swedlow Memorial College Access Staff Award of Excellence
Linda Shiller, Director Career and Education Outreach
Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, Winooski, VT
www.vsac.org

Linda Shiller is the Director of Career and Education Outreach for the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC). Ms. Shiller has worked in college access for over 25 years. She has worked with students from middle school through college age and has continued to be a strong advocate for college access, representing the needs of low-income, first generation students in her work as a counselor, program coordinator, and new director of three separate federal grant programs: Talent Search, Educational Opportunity Program, and GEAR UP. Always looking for new ways to help students, Ms. Shiller has recently started a network and programs to increase the opportunities for Vermont’s foster youth in Vermont.

The Dr. David B. Swedlow Memorial College Access Staff Member Award of Excellence recognizes the dedication, hard work and innovation of an individual working at a college access program. VSAC received one thousand dollars toward professional development in honor of Ms. Shiller’s award. The College Access Staff Award of Excellence is named for Dr. Swedlow, former NCAN Director of Programs, after his passing and in honor of his commitment to the cause of college access.