BTN LiveBIG: Ohio State's Young Scholars Program honored

On Nov. 12, the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities (APLU) named The Ohio State University?s Young Scholars Program (YSP) the winner of the 2013 C. Peter Magrath University Community Engagement Award.

Founded in 1988, YSP identifies candidates in sixth grade from low-income families in Ohio?s nine largest urban school districts: Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Lorain, Toledo, and Youngstown. Once selected, YSP engages, mentors and supports those students while working with local school superintendents, principals and counselors to improve student performance and district graduation rates.

YSP has prepared nearly 3,000 Ohio students for college success, and has made it possible for nearly 800 students to become first-generation college graduates. The program consistently provides more than 15 percent of Ohio State?s diverse student population.

When YSP students enter Ohio State, they receive a full financial package covering up to five years of college education.

YSP also works with parents to become more involved in the students? learning, and hundreds of parents and siblings have earned their GED and college degrees though involvement in the program.

The C. Peter Magrath University Community Engagement Award, which comes with a trophy and $20,000, was presented to Executive Vice President and Provost Joseph Steinmetz and Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer Valerie B. Lee at the APLU?s 126^th annual meeting in Washington DC.

For more information about what the Young Scholars Program is doing through Ohio State, go to: http://odi.osu.edu/current-students/young-scholars-program/