The Observer, February 25, 2005
Volume XXXVII, Issue 19
Local college access program helps students of all ages
Myron Matlock, 20, realized his dream when he laid eyes on the roads and bridges passing by his father's car window even before he started first grade. Now as a junior majoring in civil engineering, Matlock pursues his vocation with the aid of Cleveland Scholarship Program, Inc. (CSP).
Matlock, who is the first in his family to go through the four years of college, said the in-house CSP advisor at his high school helped him provided guidance and find money for college. He received a renewable scholarship from the Lubrizol Foundation with his best friend.
"I found out the night of the senior awards," said Matlock. "That was all everyone wrote in my yearbook: 'Have fun with those 40 Gs.'"
He is one of the 68 CSP scholarship recipients for the 2004-05 school year attending Case. The program awarded more than $3 million in scholarships to over 2000 Cleveland students last fall, according to Courtney Kilbury, CSP's internal comm-unications and marketing coordinator.
Paving the way as the first college access program in the nation, beginning in 1967 by Robert Coplan, CSP was quickly followed by other programs to aid high school students pursuing post-secondary educations and adults to re-enter college.
They have advisors distributed to 65 private and parochial schools, ranging from elementary to high school, according to the program's website. Counselors and teachers encourage their students to visit the advisors, who aid in every step of the process from finding the scholarships to mailing them out.
"It was really convenient," Matlock said. "It was helpful because it was a supple-mental source outside of the counselors."
Although the central focus lies in post-secondary education, the program also has several activities for younger students, such as the Early Awareness Program and GEAR UP. These programs provide guidance for students about financial aid and college.
Jamal Baz, 20, who is a junior mechanical engineer at Case, remembers her younger brother going through the GEAR UP program, and believes educating students early on about the importance of college is important.
"They're definitely trying to think of new programs to get more students interested in going into college," said Baz.
Baz, who won the Jane Campbell Fill the Gap Scholarship, also enjoys CSP's job resources, such as the research database at their downtown office. "I used it last summer. It was easier than searching online because it's a database only for things that you're looking for already," said Baz. "It makes the searching time quicker."
Many scholarships require the recipient to maintain a specific GPA minimum. Although at times, the GPA requirement looms in the back of her mind, Baz said the benefits of the program are great.
"Future-wise, financially [the program] benefits me because if I didn't have scholarships I'd have tons of loans," Baz said.
But as Matlock found, the program also accommodates when GPA issues arise. "I personally am really thankful for the program because I actually had GPA issues my freshman year, and after talking with them and the donors they let me keep it, and I eventually raised my GPA."
"We really feel happy to help people pursue post-secondary education," said Stacy Watts, CSP's Adult Learner advisor. "It's a huge must, whether it's an associate's degree or a bachelor's degree, to pursue a degree to help you go out in the workforce."
