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It was an intimidating experience for Mareli Aureoles ’29 to speak before guests at the ���ϲ����� Academy President’s Reception on May 7; but it was ���ϲ����� Academy that, she says, helped her break out of her shell.

“Applying to the ���ϲ����� Academy was the first time I put myself out there because if you know me, you know I can be very awkward and shy at times ,” said Aureoles, a scholar in the Rho cohort of ���ϲ����� Academy and graduating senior at Graham High School. “You never know how worth it an outcome can be or what you might learn from it unless you try.”

���ϲ����� Academy, housed in ���ϲ�����’s 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 annual President’s Reception is an opportunity for the ���ϲ����� Academy to honor the cohort of scholars and their families as they enter the next phase of their academic career. ���ϲ����� President Connie Ledoux Book congratulated the class and spoke to the importance of their support systems in making it to the finish line.

“One of the things we are celebrating tonight is possibilities that are achieved when a community dedicates itself to a goal,” said Book. “One of the greatest privileges of my job is I witness the educational journey and how it arrives students to a new life and new opportunities.”

The 27 Rho scholars are one of the largest cohorts in the program’s nearly 20-year history, and the first time all the students who began the program finished together. During the reception, each student was recognized and received an academic cord for their accomplishment.

“Each of you carries your own story, a story of strength, of persistence, and of passion,” said Emily Wiersma, director of ���ϲ����� Academy. “Your journey to this moment was not easy, I know, but you stayed the course. You leaned on each other. And you showed what’s possible when talent meets opportunity and support.”

In total, the Rho scholars received 259 acceptances from 75 different universities, with scholarships totaling more than $4.6 million. Ten scholars, including Aureoles, have committed to ���ϲ�����, the largest number of ���ϲ����� Academy students to ever commit to the university.

The Summer Academy, which begins June 15, is a major aspect of the program, consisting of 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.

“This idea definitely scared me at first,” said Aureoles about the Summer Academy. “Because not only would I be away from my family, but I would be surrounded by a lot of new people, not only students my age but also college students and professors as well. Looking back, I really had nothing to be afraid of because I would see my family on the weekends, and although meeting new people can be scary, meeting everyone at the ���ϲ����� Academy has been one of the best things to ever happen to me.”

Now, the Rho scholars cohort will participate in the next phase of ���ϲ����� Academy: the Academy Transitions to College Program. Once on their respective college campuses, ���ϲ����� Academy college scholars and families are provided with continuing support through the ���ϲ����� Academy College Success Program to ensure college completion.

���ϲ����� Academy has been one of the best things to ever happen to me.

-Mareli Aureoles ’29, a scholar in the ���ϲ����� Academy Rho cohort.

Daniel Espinosa, a current student at UNC Chapel Hill and ���ϲ����� Academy Omicron scholar, knows exactly how the Rho scholars feel. In his remarks to the audience on Wednesday, Espinosa emphasized that the hardest part about the transition to college can be putting yourself out there.

“Starting is scary. But once you do, that’s when things start shifting,” he said.

But he also warned the class that they will fail at times – and that’s okay, because it will be a learning opportunity to move forward. Through any challenge, he says, they can’t do it alone.

“Community doesn’t fall in your lap, you have to build it,” he said. “You’re someone who has made it through every challenge thrown your way so far. Someone who belongs in every room you walk into. Someone who’s not just going to college, but hopefully changing the narrative while doing it. So be proud of your story.”

Associate Professor of English Kim Pyne, who previously served as interim director of the program, closed the reception by encouraging the cohort to continue on, even in difficult times.

“Everything you need to make it successfully through college is already in you,” she said. “And on those days, when you feel like giving up, because I’d like to say they won’t come and because failure is real and a learning opportunity, it will happen, remember all of these people around you. Remember why you started on this path years ago and remember both why and how you stayed.”