March 4, 2008, Atlanta, GA – American InterContinental University (AIU) is pleased to announce its partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS). Perfectly matching AIU's goal of providing a high-quality career-focused education to students who otherwise might not have the opportunity, with BBBS' experience at improving the lives of children, the partnership is destined for success.
AIU has made a financial commitment to Big Brothers Big Sisters to help fund several initiatives, and has also committed to 20 full-ride bachelor degree scholarships that are valued at as much as $1.2 million. Most promising, though, is the chance to further the Mentoring Towards College (MTC) initiative. MTC is a program that identifies children who have shown that, with a little help, they have the capacity to be successful university students.
Mentoring Towards College pairs teens, or the "Littles," who have demonstrated a capacity and the motivation to succeed, with adults, or the "Bigs." And most of the Bigs in the program have degrees themselves, so they are well-positioned to understand what challenges await the Littles. Recognizing that the first year or so of college can be trying even for gifted students from stable home environments, the mentors selected for the MTC program have committed to staying with their mentees through at least one year of college study.
State of the World's Children, a report published by UNICEF, documents that the way to ensure better-educated children is to also educate others in their support structure – especially mothers. Recognizing that children in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program often don't have the financial means to attend college, a home life that's conducive to a climb up the higher education ladder, or a family history of experience with education beyond high school, the leadership teams at AIU and BBBS applied a little "outside the box" thinking. Consequently, scholarships will be available to motivated high school students in the MTC program and to parents of children in the program.
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