UNION, NJ — Union College student Precious Opaola from Linden has been named Kaplan Leadership Program scholars for the 2023/2023 Academic Year.
Established in 2006, the Kaplan Leadership Program helps high-potential, low-income and historically underrepresented community college students complete their associate’s degree and successfully transfer and go on to earn a four-year bachelor’s degree at the nation’s most highly-selective schools.
Opaola said her big dream is to start a nonprofit that begins mentoring underprivileged minority children at a young age, to empower them and support them as they grow up. She is a social services – sociology major.
Since its inception, Kaplan Leadership Scholars have been accepted to the country’s most competitive schools, including Yale, Stanford, Brown, Amherst, Cornell, Mount Holyoke, Smith and many others. Ninety-two percent of Kaplan Scholars earn a bachelor’s degree.
“Given the fact that the diverse and resilient talent that the nation needs to fuel the economy can be found in our community colleges, we felt it was particularly important that we remain committed to our mission and support a new group of students at this time,” said Nolvia Delgado, executive director of Kaplan Educational Foundation. “This year’s cohort continues to represent the wide diversity that exists in U.S. community colleges, including non-traditional age students, recent immigrants, first-generation and English language learners, and others pursuing degrees in education, STEM, computer science, medicine, law and other fields. Now more than ever, in this post-affirmative action landscape, it’s critical to remove barriers and provide greater access to higher education for our newest cohort of talented, motivated individuals.”