HOPKINSVILLE, KY (2/7/12) - Hopkinsville Community College (HCC) is gearing up for its second annual Super Sunday event that will be held on February 12. Governor Steve Beshear has proclaimed this day as the Kentucky Community and Technical College Super Sunday Day in Kentucky. This Sunday, HCC and each of the other 15 KCTCS colleges and System office will partner with African-American churches in their communities to host information fairs for prospective college students and their families. More than 5,000 prospective college students and their families are expected to attend these events statewide.
The Super Sunday event will begin with HCC staff members attending church service at partner churches: All Nations House; Cedar Grove Baptist Church; First Street Baptist Church; Lane Tabernacle CME; Means Ave Baptist Church; Montgomery Elizabeth Baptist Church; St. Bethlehem Baptist Church; and Virginia Street Baptist Church of Prayer. HCC will also sponsor the Super Sunday College Fair on campus beginning at 2:30 p.m. The event will have a special program and a complimentary lunch as well as informational booths.
“HCC is always looking for ways to partner with the community,” said HCC President Dr. Jim Selbe. “We’ve reached out to local clergy members in our African-American churches to help us educate and assist students and parents. I believe this partnership will make the process of enrolling in college a bit more simple for those that take part in Super Sunday.”
Super Sunday is a statewide initiative intended to increase the college-going rate of students of color. “We are grateful to have these partnerships with area churches,” said HCC Diversity Directory Tracey Williams. “We want to stress that the Super Sunday event is open to anyone who is interested in learning more about their college options. This event is relatively new so the college had to limit its outreach, but we hope that student and parent interest will require the event to grow each year.”
By working as advocates for these students and partnering with churches in local communities, HCC hopes to create partnerships and programs to stop the leakage that exists in Kentucky’s educational pipeline, resulting in only 57 percent of minority students graduating from high school, 42 percent entering college and eight percent graduating from college.
This event is patterned after a highly successful program at California State University, now in its seventh year, which is credited with substantially increasing the college-going rate of African-American students in California.
In the future, the Super Sunday event will be expanded to target students from other racial and ethnic groups, such as the emerging Latino population, as well as additional church partners.
To find out more about Super Sunday or to make a reservation to attend, contact Ms. Tracey Williams at 707-3825.
SurfKY News
Information provided by Rena Young
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