Nicole Hurd, director of the Center for Undergraduate Excellence, will become the first director of higher-education initiatives at the National College Access Network Monday.
While still maintaining ties with current students applying for fellowships and remaining part-time director of College Guides at the University, Hurd will concentrate on the nationalization of the College Guides program.
The program was initiated in the fall of 2005 with 14 University students to help high school students with their college applications and in the financial aid process.
"Everyone should have the ability to go to college and have access to necessary information," Hurd said.
Many state schools, including the University, had increases in applications from the schools that were sent College Guides. The University of Virginia's College at Wise had a 120 percent increase from those schools.
"We've become a national model to be replicated in other states," Hurd said.
With NCAN opening the program to the rest of the country, 169 colleges were invited to apply for eight grants. The University would keep its grant, making it the ninth participant in the program.
"[This is] the beginning of a movement for higher education to partner with K-12 schools and use our young alumni to help with college access," Hurd said.
Lauren Ross a 2006 College student and a College Guide who started in the fall of 2006, works with juniors and seniors in Rappahannock County, Va. Meeting with them individually, she discusses future options with them such as four-year and two-year colleges, trade school, scholarships and financial aid.
"You work with students who have never received encouragement before and even [have been] actively discouraged," Ross said.
As director of the Center for Undergraduate Excellence, Hurd and her team have been aiding University students for years by informing them about fellowships, undergraduate research and more.
Hurd was a primary planner of the Center and has been its director since its inception.
"She has built it from the ground up," said William Wilson, assistant dean to the College and College liaison to the Center for Undergraduate Excellence.
Hurd and the Center "help students get a sense of their curriculum and get a sense of themselves as young scholars,"Wilson said.
Others, like College Dean Edward Ayers of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, praised Hurd's work.
"Nicole's been a great force for good her whole time at the University," he said. "[She] understands how much good will and energy our recent graduates have and how much they want to give back. The College Guides program is a perfect embodiment of that."
Read More
Was Ryan ‘anti-Jeffersonian?’ Historians weigh in after his resignation
By Brendon Bordwine | 10 hours agoWhile the Jefferson Council argues that Ryan violated the University's founding mission, historians suggest that even Jefferson’s own views were far from consistent.
Student Council passes resolution to uphold student voices during presidential search
By Lauren Seeliger | YesterdayThe resolution requests that five students be included on the search committee, and that the Board of Visitors provides key updates to the student body throughout the search process.
Senior VP for Operations Colette Sheehy looks back at her career at the University
By Brandon Kile | 3 days agoSheehy’s role involved overseeing the work of around 2,500 University employees, including custodians, architects and engineers.
