Hundreds Of High School Students Are Welcomed At UC's Images Of Color

Despite threatening weather forecasts farther north, hundreds of high school students converged on UC’s Great Hall last Saturday for the Images of Color program sponsored by the UC Office of Admissions. The annual campus visitation program highlights what a UC education can hold for students of color.

“One of the most important things you need to ask yourself as you consider where to go to college is to ask, ‘Is this place the right fit for me?’” Mitchel D. Livingston, UC Vice President for Student Affairs and Services, said in his opening welcome. “Ultimately, you can answer those questions in the campus visit. Our goal in these next few hours is to help you answer your questions about whether UC is the right fit for you.”

Livingston cited UC as one of the most diverse campuses in the region, both in terms of the student body and its academic programs. “We are committed to becoming the institution of choice for students who understand the need to make diversity an integral part of their educational experience.”

Keynote speaker and University Ombuds Lillian Santa-Maria encouraged students to use their college experience to explore their curiosity and passion. By gaining real-world experience at UC, she told the students they could have a future impact on the world. She asked students to make their college experience a tool to “design your dream and make it happen.”

UC Student Body Vice President Justin Gibson told students they could get involved in the dozens of organizations on campus for students of color, and said the African American Cultural and Research Center was “rivaled by none in the nation.”

Representatives of the student organizations had displays at the event and student peers on hand to answer any questions.

After getting a campus tour and attending college open houses and other information sessions, the African American Cultural and Research Center Choir brought the students to their feet before their trip home. Some students were even standing on chairs in the Great Hall to get a better view of the 56-member student choir and their performance of an inspirational medley. The choir celebrated its tenth birthday on campus in fall 2002.