Camden Gateway to College Program receives 3rd National Award
Camden Gateway delegates – Left to Right: Calvin Ferguson, George Bonett, Margo Venable, Scott Oliver, Faith Grant, Irvin Sweeney, (Missing – Katrina White)
The Gateway to College program at Camden County College received another Program Excellence Award at the 2018 Gateway to College National Peers Learning Conference (PLC) held in Portland, Oregon from July 23rd to 25th. The theme of the conference was Gateway to Program Success: Accelerating Achievement. This was the third consecutive national award to be presented to the Camden Gateway program by the National Network for exceeding all the benchmarks (in 2016-17) used to assess the performance of Gateway centers nationwide. Camden Gateway has earned this prestigious award each year since it was introduced.
Ms. Emily Froimson, President of the Gateway to College National Network applauded the Camden Gateway to College program as a symbol of excellence, as she presented the award to its Director, Irvin Sweeney.
The Camden Gateway to College delegation attending the conference included Executive Dean Dr. Margo Venable, members of the Gateway Administrative team and four Gateway students. Two of the Camden students were selected as panelists for the national Student Panel discussion.
The Gateway to College program was also presented the first Equity Trailblazers Award (in November 2017) at the “65 by 25 Summit” by the Honorable Rochelle Hendricks, Secretary for Higher Education, for advancing the objective of the state of New Jersey: to raise the percentage of New Jersey residents that have attained a post-secondary credential from the current 50% to 65% by 2025, thereby helping to ensure an innovative, competitive, inclusive and more prosperous future for the state.
The Gateway to College program at Camden County College enables young people age 16 to 20 (who may have dropped out of school or at risk) to complete their high school education in a collegiate environment and earn college credits at the same time. The program is supported by the Camden and Pennsauken School Districts, Camden County College and the Gateway to College National Network.