For more than a decade, UGA’s incoming freshman class has had stronger academic credentials than the class that entered the year before. Increasingly, the classes have started to become more diverse ethnically also. A new program was initiated on campus this summer to continue the effort to increase student diversity.
The first Padres e Hijos Fin de Semana (Parents and Students Weekend) was designed to give outstanding high school seniors – and their parents – an inside look at higher education at UGA. The program helped prepare the students and their parents for the college application process and introduced them to the services available through college student affairs and financial aid offices.
Arnett C. Mace Jr., senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at UGA, spoke to the group about UGA’s academic and extracurricular programs, its outstanding faculty, and its commitment to diversity.
Twenty-one high school seniors from eight Georgia counties participated in the weekend program.
“These seniors are to be congratulated for their academic achievements and leadership potential,” said Art Dunning, UGA’s vice president for public service and outreach. “This group has successfully completed more than 150 honors, AP and dual enrollment classes; has a GPA that exceeds 3.5; and includes captains of academic and sports teams.”
Padres e Hijos is among several programs designed by UGA’s Latino Initiative to increase educational opportunities for Georgia’s youth.
“The UGA Latino External Advisory Council is looking for ways to attract top Latino students in Georgia to UGA,” said Frank Ros, chairman of the UGA Latino Initiative’s External Advisory Council and assistant vice president of Corporate Latin Affairs at the Coca-Cola Company. “Not only do we want to attract them, we aspire to have them apply and matriculate at UGA. The Padres e Hijos Fin de Semana was a way to encourage top Latino students to visit the campus, experience UGA personally, and learn about the abundant resources available to them.”