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A University of Cincinnati partnership to help underprivileged children is making waves.

The Higher Education Mentoring Initiative (HEMI) — a partnership that works to prepare foster students for post-secondary education — was presented with the CollegeKeys Compact Innovation Award for the Midwestern Region this past Monday in Chicago.

Created by the College Board in 2007, the CollegeKeys Compact recognizes programs that increase the percentage of low-income students preparing for and completing college.

“They give an award each year to an innovative program,” said Annie Schellinger, the UC HEMI program coordinator. “It’s an incredible opportunity to be recognized by a national organization such as the College Board. It’s very exciting and encouraging to be recognized at that capacity.”

HEMI was formed in 2009 between UC’s Partnership For Achieving School Success (PASS), Hamilton County Job and Family Services, the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners, Cincinnati State and Great Oaks Institute of Technology.

Schellinger said that Greg Hartmann, Hamilton County commissioner; and Moira Weir, director of Hamilton County Job and Family Services, came to UC with the idea of a new partnership.

“They had approached UC simply because we are an institute of higher education and [they] thought it would be a good partnership to provide [for] students,” Schellinger said.

Now serving more than 35 students, HEMI recruits and trains mentors for students.

“There are some incredible mentors, and a lot of them are UC faculty and staff,” Schellinger said.

A dozen new mentors joined HEMI this month, six of them from UC.
“It’s really exciting, because the [UC] is being recognized as an institution that’s serving a diverse group of students,” Schellinger said.

The CollegeKeys Compact did a two-year study of academic preparation and found that many low-income high school graduates fail to enroll in a four-year college program.

CollegeKeys Compact hopes to see more low-income students being represented in colleges and universities.

“Congratulations to this year’s CollegeKeys Compact Innovation Awards winners for leading the charge toward the common goal of a 55 percent graduation rate by 2025,” said College Board President Gaston Caperton, “and in giving our students the best possible opportunities to succeed in college and beyond.”

HEMI was one of the 16 national winners for the 2012 award.

CollegeKeys Compact believes that all students have the right to an affordable and successful college experience.