SLI in Richmond
University of Richmond faculty and staff colleagues work with alumni, parents, and our undergraduate mentors to design and implement activities that encourage SLI participants’ intellectual, cultural, and social development. The SLI high school students collaborate with their UR undergraduate mentors, undertake challenging academic and extracurricular projects, acquire leadership skills, and serve their communities. Activities range from special tutorials, SAT and ACT workshops, sessions supplying information on college admissions and scholarship assistance, concerts and other cultural events, outings to the UR campus, and visits by filmmakers, journalists, business executives, historians, novelists, and public officials.
Parental involvement is integral to a successful pursuit of higher education, and participants at both UR and the high schools work towards a strong partnership between parents and students. SLI high school students also complete an early college course, which starts late in their sophomore year and concludes early in their senior year. The mentoring relationship, however, allows SLI to be particularly attentive to the special needs of each high school student.