While many programs target high school students with college entrance information, few give a helping hand to their college advisors and guidance counselors. DePaul University has filled that gap by awarding grants totaling over $12,000 to seven such counselors who work in high schools where the typical challenges of college counseling are compounded by large numbers of first-generation or low-income students.

The competitive grant program awarded all-expenses-paid trips to the National Association of College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) Conference in Long Beach, Calif., October 2-5.

But the real winners are the students they advise, who will benefit from the valuable skills and information their counselors have brought back.

"DePaul's mission is rooted in providing access to college for low-income and first-generation college students," said Jon Boeckenstedt, associate vice president for enrollment management. "We believe an investment in professional development for the dedicated staff who advise these students will have a high impact on the thousands of hard-working students they will support through the college admission process."

The recipients (in alphabetical order) are:

-Matthew J. Burns, Henry Foss High School, Tacoma, Wash.

-Trish B. Dew, David Crockett High School, Austin, Texas

-Karyn A. O’Neil, Lane Tech High School, Chicago, Ill. (who has since accepted a position at Evanston Township High School)

-Jennifer K. Parris, Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School, Bradley, Ill.

-Marilyn Suda, Corvallis High School, Corvallis, Mont.

-James D. Thornton, Hales Franciscan High School, Chicago, Ill.

-Thomas Shelby Wyatt, Kenwood Academy High School, Chicago, Ill.

The winners were selected from nearly 100 applicants and were chosen based on a combination of factors including the need for improved college counseling services at the school, the socio-economic status of the students the school serves and the counselors’ past efforts to bring college counseling services to students despite financial or staffing challenges. The grants covered conference registration, airfare, hotel and meals for the four-day conference. While at the conference, the seven grant recipients attended more than 35 sessions on topics including: improving students’ college search process, disseminating better information about financial aid, advising students on early-action and early-decision programs, and a wealth of other helpful information.

United States Census studies have found that students are one and a half times more likely to attend college if their parents attended. Additional census data shows that people who earn bachelor’s degrees earn 77 percent more in salary over their careers than those who don't.

DePaul is the largest Catholic university in America, with more than 23,000 students enrolled in more than 130 undergraduate and graduate programs offered on two Chicago and five suburban campuses. The university has a long-standing commitment to first-generation college students. Forty-one percent of the 2,256 freshmen who enrolled at DePaul in fall 2002 would be the first in their families to graduate from college. That class also was the most diverse in the university’s history, with 37 percent minority students. 2003 enrollment statistics will be finalized in late October.

Editors Note: Information about the conference may be obtained at www.nacacconference.com. This grant program is not officially sanctioned by NACAC. Boeckenstedt can be reached at jboecken@depaul.edu or 312/362-5128.