FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2003
CONTACT: Roland Ruiz, St. Philip's College Director of Community and Public Relations
210.531.4851

ST. PHILIP'S COLLEGE TO HOST FREE COMMUNITY-WIDE COLLEGE OPPORTUNITIES WORKSHOP FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS OCT. 18

St. Philip's College will hold its third annual "College Opportunities Workshop for Middle School Students: Today's Achievers, Tomorrow's Leaders" on Saturday, Oct. 18 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the main campus (1801 Martin Luther King Dr.). The workshop, designed to expose students to college opportunities available to them upon high school graduation, is free to all area middle schoolers. More information is available by calling St. Philip's College at 531-3268.

The College Opportunities Workshop will focus on various aspects of preparing for college, ranging from motivational talks to practical how-to tips on finding financial assistance and preparing academically. Activities will include guest speakers, video presentations, campus tours and door prizes, including two scholarships.

"Our goal is to not only inform, but to motivate students about the many educational opportunities that await them upon graduating from high school," said event coordinator Diego B. Bernal, St. Philip's College director of Student Financial Services. "Research indicates that decisions made before high school can profoundly affect students' access to college. It shows that while two-thirds of eighth graders say they plan to attend college, only one-third actually enroll for college prep courses, and that low-income students in particular often assume they cannot go to college because of perceived barriers that, in reality, do not exist."

Featured speakers will include San Antonio Express-News columnist Cary Clack, representatives from the military academies, and St. Philip's College ambassadors who will provide tours of some of the college's more popular programs. Participants will receive t-shirts and can qualify for door prizes, including two $500 scholarships, which will be given away that day. Free breakfast and lunch will be provided courtesy of McDonald's.

St. Philip's College, one of the Alamo Community Colleges serving the greater Bexar County region, is a comprehensive community college designated as both a Historically Black College and a Hispanic Serving Institution. St. Philip's College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.