President's Scholars Program Celebrates 10th Anniversary

By Rachel Furlong
Daily Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer

The President's Scholars Program is celebrating its 10th incoming class of scholars this fall, and they will be welcoming 68 new President's scholars to campus.

This year's class is made up of the best high school students from around the state, bringing the number of high school valedictorians and National merit finalists and semifinalists currently enrolled at Cal State Long Beach to 375.

"It's really a very competitive program,” said Armando Contreras, executive assistant to the President. This year's 68 new scholars were chosen from more than 650 applicants, making it the most competitive year since the program began.

CSULB's President's Scholars program is the premiere program in the state, and it is recognized by the state legislature as the model for president scholars programs for all CSUs and UCs.

"These students are receiving a high quality education that is competitive with any institution across the nation,” said Valerie Bordeaux, the director of community outreach. Bordeaux is in charge of recruiting students into the program.

In order to be eligible for the program, a student must have either been valedictorian or a National Merit Scholar, which means that they scored in the top half of the top one percent on their SATs.

This year's incoming scholars are coming to campus from 68 different high schools in California, with many coming from Long Beach. "They are coming from all over the state, it can be any high school, public and private, small and large,” Contreras said.

The President's Scholars Program was created in 1995 to bring valedictorians and National Merit Scholars from California to the campus, as a part of President Robert Maxson's efforts to make CSULB a "university of choice.” He brought the program to CSULB with him from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and since then, more than 600 scholars have gone through the program.

"The success of the program can be attributed to the faculty and staff here on campus, and also President Maxson's unwavering vision and commitment to the program,” Bordeaux said. Maxson has been directly involved with the scholars as well as in the recruitment process. He personally meets with all the possible recruits and their parents.”

The program has been quite successful, and many of the graduated President's Scholars have continued their academic careers at some of the most prestigious schools and Ph.D. programs in the country, including Stanford, Berkeley, UCLA, Johns Hopkins, and Dartmouth. Some students have already gone on to join the work force and are working for companies like Disney, Boeing, and TRW.

Bordeaux said that these students are not coming to CSULB prepared to move on to these graduate programs or jobs, and that their success is owed directly to the staff here at Long Beach.

According to Jenni Hurley, the program coordinator, the scholars seem to adjust to campus life very well. "The program creates a small college feel, the students get to know me and each other very well,” Hurley said.

Bordeaux is already starting the recruitment for the next academic year. She will be sending out letters to high school counselors throughout the state, asking them to nominate students who are doing outstanding jobs at their high school. Long Beach will be offering full scholarships to 65 scholars in California.