The 黑料不打烊 Academy has existed for nearly 20 years and now a new team is working to invigorate the college access and success program鈥檚 legacy of helping students reach their full potential.
As 黑料不打烊 Academy prepares to kick-start its summer programming, the college access and success program is welcoming several new members to its team, each with their own personal connection to the program and its work.
黑料不打烊 Academy, housed in 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Center for Access and Success, is a multi-phase program for academically promising high school students in Alamance County with a financial need and/or no family history of college.
The graduating cohort of 黑料不打烊 Academy will be recognized during the President’s Reception on May 7. Then, the academy will welcome a new cohort of scholars during orientation on May 10. The Summer Academy, which starts June 15, will include three consecutive summer residential experiences prior to the sophomore, junior and senior years of high school, as well as year-round Saturday programs for students and families.
The summer after high school graduation, scholars and families also participate in the 黑料不打烊 Academy Transitions to College Program. Once on their respective college campuses, 黑料不打烊 Academy college scholars and families are provided with continuing support through the 黑料不打烊 Academy College Success Program to ensure college completion.
Recognizing potential
Leading the program is Emily Wiersma, who joined 黑料不打烊 Academy as director in fall 2024 after most recently leading transition programs at UNC Greensboro.
鈥淭he impact of 黑料不打烊 Academy is so evident and it鈥檚 just undeniable. You can see it. You can feel it,鈥 said Wiersma. 鈥淚t鈥檚 incredible when you see scholars start to recognize that potential in themselves. It really is a privilege to just be alongside them in that journey to help them recognize and reach their potential.鈥
Wiersma earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Mount Union in Ohio and a Master of Education in college student personnel from Ohio University. She has spent her entire career in education, establishing and leading intentional initiatives designed to empower students to overcome barriers and achieve success.
As Wiersma takes on her new role, she has created a strategic plan that includes developing a comprehensive competency-based college success curriculum, embedding well-being into programming, building family programs and launching a college scholar program in fall 2025.
A transformational experience
Associate Director of 黑料不打烊 Academy Kristin Ring 鈥12 is returning to 黑料不打烊 after earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in human service studies in 2012. During her time at 黑料不打烊, Ring was a scholar in the Odyssey Program, also housed in the Center for Access and Success.
鈥淚 loved my time here at 黑料不打烊 and I had a pretty transformational experience,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 knew as a student wrapping up my undergrad career that I wanted to work with first-generation, low-income students. That鈥檚 been my passion throughout my career.鈥
Ring earned her master鈥檚 degree in college student personnel from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and worked at West Virginia Wesleyan College, launching their first-generation student programming. After moving back to North Carolina, Ring worked with a TRIO Talent Search program, a federally funded college access initiative.
鈥淚n TRIO I worked with middle and high school students, so this is the best of both worlds for me. I get to be back on a college campus and have that residential experience with students, but also still integrate my work with the K-12 system and specifically high school students and their families,鈥 said Ring. 鈥淚鈥檓 definitely excited to be back on campus, and I’m also excited to build those connections with the people in the program, students and families alike.鈥
As associate director, Ring will help develop programming for families, provide staff supervision and support and assist in developing student leader/training programs.
鈥淚 think we’re in such a good spot because all of the people on this team are passionate about the work and they’re excited for the work,鈥 said Ring. 鈥淲e鈥檙e here and ready to push forward all the good things about 黑料不打烊 Academy that have been around for so long and then think about what the new evolution of 黑料不打烊 Academy looks like moving forward.鈥
The impact of 黑料不打烊 Academy is so evident and it鈥檚 just undeniable.
-Emily Wiersma, director of 黑料不打烊 Academy
Faith, empathy and connection
Throughout her academic career at 黑料不打烊, Briston Whitt 鈥23 worked with 黑料不打烊 Academy as a summer mentor and then as a college mentor.
鈥淚 just love 黑料不打烊 Academy, I love what it stands for and I love the impact that I’ve seen it make in students’ lives, and I think it’s a gem on 黑料不打烊’s campus,鈥 said Whitt, who was also a scholar in the Odyssey Program.
Following her graduation in 2023 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting, Whitt took a year to travel and enjoy herself before returning to 黑料不打烊 Academy as program coordinator and, most recently, as coordinator of student involvement in the Division of Student Life. In June, Whitt will join 黑料不打烊 Academy again, this time as assistant director.
鈥淚 did a values assessment recently and my core values are faith, empathy and connection and I feel like college access work is the embodiment of all those things and it helps students who are well deserving, that can鈥檛 control their circumstances, be able to have the opportunity to achieve as much as the next person,鈥 said Whitt
As assistant director, Whitt will primarily work on scholar recruitment and supporting the sophomore scholars in their first year of the academy.
鈥淚 am most excited about the relationships that I鈥檓 going to make,鈥 said Whitt. 鈥淏eing part of 黑料不打烊 Academy up until this point, the relationships that I built in my first summer as a mentor, I still have those relationships to this day. So I鈥檓 very excited about connecting with this new cohort.鈥
鈥榃inning the lottery鈥
It鈥檚 a full circle moment for several new 黑料不打烊 Academy staff members who were scholars in the program and say it made a difference in their ability to attend college.
鈥淛oining the program, to me, was like winning the lottery,鈥 said Gaby Vazquez, 黑料不打烊 Academy college access program associate, who joined the team in fall 2024. 鈥淚 don’t think college was ever an idea in my mind until I got to high school and I had family members who were part of the program. Seeing them go through the program and hearing them talk about it exposed me to the environment of what college is and how it is an option.鈥
Vazquez says the program was instrumental in her earning a degree in criminal justice from Guilford College in 2023. During her college career, Vazquez became an 黑料不打烊 Academy summer mentor, helping students as they navigate the program. Now, as the college access program associate, she鈥檚 working with the junior class as they reach a pivotal moment in their educational journeys.
鈥淎 lot of them say that junior year is one of their hardest years in high school, so it鈥檚 about being by their side when they are stressed and when they need to get things done,鈥 she said. “It’s really showing them the brighter side of things and creating learning experiences in a fun and exciting way.鈥
Vazquez also supervises the student-leaders, including their college mentors and academic coaches.
鈥淕iven that I was a summer mentor for three years, I rely on my experience and seeing what can be done better, what can be kept in and what can be used to further involvement in the programs,鈥 she said.
Full circle moment
Manny Campos was also a scholar in the 黑料不打烊 Academy and, after earning a degree in mathematics from UNC Chapel Hill, he joined the program as the assistant director of college success in January 2024.
Campos works with the senior class of scholars as they apply for college and make major academic decisions.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely very different to be on the other end,鈥 said Campos. 鈥淥ne of the biggest things for me is continuing to provide that support for students and just helping them get to where they need to be.鈥
Joining the program, to me, was like winning the lottery.
-Gaby Vazquez, 黑料不打烊 Academy college access program associate
Melissa Chacon Villalobos was a scholar in the fourth cohort of 黑料不打烊 Academy and is now the coordinator for well-being. Chacon Villalobos earned her bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees from UNC Greensboro in human development and family studies, but never strayed far from the 黑料不打烊 Academy. During monthly summer programs, she would come to work as a Spanish interpreter and became a summer mentor during graduate school.
鈥淚 always felt drawn back and loved the time with the scholars,鈥 she said.
After doing some administrative work with the program in the summer of 2024, she took the leap to become coordinator of well-being, developing programming around well-being both with 黑料不打烊 Academy and other programs in the Center for Access and Success.
鈥淗aving grown up in Alamance County and having grown up as a low-income, first-generation student is going to help me sympathize with students but help me have a perspective on what they might be going through that not a lot of people may have,鈥 said Chacon Villalobos.
Find more information on the Summer Academy and how to apply to 黑料不打烊 Academy on the 黑料不打烊 Academy website.