LEADERSHIP ENTERPRISE FOR A DIVERSE AMERICA

LEDA SCHOLARS PROGRAMSUMMER INSTITUTE:THIS YEAR'S SUMMER INSTITUTE WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THE PROGRAM TOOK PLACE ON TWO CAMPUSES, WITH THE FINAL WEEK HOSTED AT YALE. LEDA WORKED IN CLOSE PARTNERSHIP WITH BOTH PRINCETON AND YALE STAFF TO ENSURE THAT OUR SCHOLARS WOULD BE ABLE TO TRANSITION CAMPUSES WITH THE LEAST DISRUPTION POSSIBLE, AND FEEDBACK FROM COHORT 20 INDICATED THAT BOTH THE TRANSITION AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPERIENCE TWO CAMPUSES WERE AN OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE EXPERIENCE. LEDA STAFF ALSO ADAPTED THE FIVE-WEEK SUMMER INSTITUTE CURRICULUM TO ACCOMMODATE THE CHANGE IN VENUE FOR THE FINAL WEEK OF THE PROGRAM. (CONT'D ON SCH O)ONE OF THE PRIMARY ASSESSMENT TOOLS FOR THE ASPECTS OF LEADERSHIP SUMMER INSTITUTE IS A SURVEY CONDUCTED AT THE END OF THE PROGRAM. THE SURVEY ADMINISTERED DURING THE GRANT PERIOD SHOWS IMPROVEMENT ACROSS NEARLY ALL CATEGORIES; IN THE CONTEXT OF A REDUCTION IN PROGRAM TIME DUE TO THE CAMPUS TRANSITION, THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT CURRICULUM UPDATES HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE. THE SURVEY INDICATED THAT 100% OF SCHOLARS ARE CONFIDENT THAT LEDA'S PROGRAMMING WILL HELP THEM HAVE A GREATER POSITIVE IMPACT ON THEIR COMMUNITIES. 99% ALSO CONFIRMED THAT LEDA CLASSES IMPROVED THEIR WRITING SKILLS, AND 90% FURTHER AGREED THAT LEDA HELPED THEM BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS AT SELECTIVE COLLEGES. 100% STATED THAT LEDA'S COLLEGE GUIDANCE SERVICES HAD EXPANDED THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF THE INSTITUTIONS AND OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO THEM. ADDITIONALLY, 99% OF SCHOLARS WOULD RECOMMEND LEDA TO OTHER STUDENTS, AND 100% OF SCHOLARS FELT FULLY HEARD AND SUPPORTED BY LEDA STAFF THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER. RECRUITMENT & ADMISSIONS:OUR RECRUITMENT & ADMISSIONS TEAM LAUNCHED THE 2023-2024 LEDA APPLICATION IN SEPTEMBER 2023 AND BUILT ON THE ROBUST VIRTUAL OUTREACH NETWORK IT HAD PUT INTO PLACE OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS. ULTIMATELY, THIS LED TO 1,115 COMPLETE APPLICATIONS BY THE END OF THE RECRUITMENT PHASE IN MID-DECEMBER. COHORT 20 SCHOLARS COME FROM 40 U.S. STATES AND TERRITORIES, INCLUDING WASHINGTON D.C. AND OUR FIRST SCHOLARS FROM AMERICAN SAMOA AND VERMONT. 77% OF THEM WILL BE FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS. 58% IDENTIFY AS FEMALE AND 42% AS MALE. COHORT 20'S HOUSEHOLDS HAVE AN AVERAGE INCOME OF $41,559 (MEDIAN $38,223), AND 67% SPEAK A NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE AT HOME, REPRESENTING 17 DISTINCT LANGUAGES. 19% OF COHORT 20 SCHOLARS WERE BORN OUTSIDE OF THE U.S. COLLEGE GUIDANCE:IN THE FALL OF 2023, THE COLLEGE GUIDANCE TEAM BEGAN SUPPORTING SCHOLARS DURING THE MOST ACTIVE PHASE OF THE COLLEGE APPLICATION PROCESS, BUILDING ON THE SKILLS AND CONTENT KNOWLEDGE THAT LEDA COHORT 19 DEVELOPED DURING THE 2023 ASPECTS OF LEADERSHIP SUMMER INSTITUTE. 70 SCHOLARS PARTICIPATED IN THE EARLY ADMISSIONS PROCESS, AND 48 WERE ADMITTED. SOME OF THE MOST HIGHLY REPRESENTED COLLEGES INCLUDE STANFORD (10 ADMITTED) AND YALE (NINE ADMITTED). ADDITIONAL COLLEGES WHERE LEDA SCHOLARS WERE ADMITTED EARLY INCLUDE BROWN, CORNELL, GEORGETOWN, HARVARD, MIT, PRINCETON, UGA, UNC CHAPEL HILL, UVA, AND WAKE FOREST. THESE EARLY ADMISSIONS OUTCOMES ARE COMPARABLE TO THOSE OF PRIOR YEARS (60 EARLY APPLICANTS AND 35 ADMITTED IN THE 2022-2023 CYCLE), THOUGH ALSO CONTINUING A MULTI-YEAR TREND OF AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF SCHOLARS WHO CHOOSE TO APPLY EARLY. THE PROCESS CONCLUDED IN THE SPRING, WITH LEDA'S COLLEGE GUIDANCE TEAM HELPING COHORT 19 SCHOLARS EVALUATE THEIR ADMISSION OFFERS AND FINANCIAL AID PACKAGES. 98% OF COHORT 19 SCHOLARS WERE ADMITTED TO AT LEAST ONE OF THE TOP 100 COLLEGES IN THE U.S., INCLUDING 57% WHO WERE ADMITTED TO AN IVY, STANFORD, OR MIT. AFTER CONSULTING WITH THE COLLEGE GUIDANCE TEAM TO EVALUATE THEIR ACADEMIC AND FINANCIAL AID OPTIONS, 100% OF COHORT 19 MATRICULATED AT A COLLEGE THAT THEY DETERMINED WOULD BEST FIT THEIR NEEDS, INCLUDING 90% WHO ULTIMATELY CHOSE TO ATTEND A TOP-100 INSTITUTION. COLLEGE SUCCESS:DURING THE REPORTING PERIOD, LEDA'S COLLEGE SUCCESS STAFF CONDUCTED REGULAR CHECK-INS WITH UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARS, COMPLETING 435 MEETINGS DURING THE ACADEMIC YEAR. 87% OF NEW FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OPTED INTO THE LEDA PEER MENTOR PROGRAM FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT. THESE STUDENTS WERE PAIRED WITH OLDER LEDA STUDENTS, WITH AN EMPHASIS PLACED ON PROVIDING ONE MENTEE PER MENTOR AND PAIRING STUDENTS ON THE SAME CAMPUS. PEER MENTORS CONDUCTED 297 PEER-MENTOR CHECK-INS DURING THE YEAR. AS IN THE PAST, COLLEGE SUCCESS STAFF ALSO PROVIDED SPECIALIZED SUPPORT FOR GRADUATING SENIORS, HELPING THEM PLAN FOR EITHER GRADUATE SCHOOL OR ENTERING THE WORKFORCE, WITH REFERRALS TO LEDA'S CAREER AND ALUMNI SERVICES TEAM AND LOCAL CAMPUS RESOURCES AS APPROPRIATE. THE COLLEGE SUCCESS TEAM ALSO CONDUCTED CAMPUS VISITS, WHICH INCLUDED INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS AND COMMUNITY EVENTS FOR SCHOLARS AT 14 COLLEGES, INTERACTING WITH NEARLY 200 STUDENTS IN TOTAL. THE TEAM WAS ALSO INSTRUMENTAL IN COORDINATING SCHOLARS WHO ATTENDED LEDA-SPONSORED EVENTS, SUCH AS OUR 20TH ANNIVERSARY ANNUAL CELEBRATION IN MAY 2024.