GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Ninety high school juniors and seniors, from 15 different states and 6 different countries, were given a preview of college life at Calvin University through its Entrada Program.
When asked about the opportunities offered to these student scholars through the Entrada Program, the Director of the Center for Intercultural Student Development Josh Samarco said, "... to learn about liberal arts, to take a class, to grow in spiritual formation, and to find a sense of belonging through community.”
Samarco also said that the Entrada Program helps these student scholars find purpose, explaining that "entrada" means "welcome, entry and gateway.”
The Entrada Program also pushes student scholars in their academics.
“Every scholar is taking one course. And you think of a semester-long course broken down into three weeks. So it’s very rigorous,” Samarco remarked.
When asked about the end goal of the Entrada Program, Samarco said, "We want to make deposits, deposits in their spiritual faith, deposits in their academic journey, but also deposits in their character and integrity development.”
Importantly, Entrada's impact extends beyond the summer program. Each graduate is awarded a $4,000 renewable scholarship, automatically added to their financial aid package each year they attend Calvin University.
Today, these young hopefuls all came together for their graduation from the Entrada Program.
“When you think about the kingdom of God on full display, you see every single tribe and background from different cross-cultural perspectives coming together and figuring out how to do life. I don’t know where else you would get that, but we do have that sense of community here,” Samarco said.
The Entrada Program lasts for a total of four weeks, so if you are a junior or senior in high school, you can apply now for next year's program at calvin.edu.
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