By: Anne Reynolds, Director of Advancement Communication, Office of University Advancement and Alumni Relations
Mason’s Early Identification Program (EIP) is one of the university’s college access programs. Since 1987, it has provided academic enrichment, personal and social development, civic engagement, and leadership training opportunities to middle and high school students who will be the first in their families to attend college. EIP students come from minority and low-to-moderate income families, and often lack the academic preparedness and support structure necessary to achieve college admission or graduation. Mason partners with seven public school districts in Virginia and works with 750+ students in grades 8 to 12 and their families, taking a holistic approach to successfully navigate post-secondary education. Each spring, EIP students graduate from the program as they graduate from high school, and many of them matriculate at Mason.
“EIP exists to serve the community,” said Khaseem Davis, EIP Director. “Our goal is to provide support to students that will enable to them to overcome opportunity gaps that often impact under resourced communities. We work to fulfill the promise of education by making sure our students develop the skills to approach and succeed in a university setting, and beyond, so that they can develop—academically, socially, and personally—into productive global citizens. The very citizens our community needs.”
As it serves the Northern Virginia community, the work of the EIP is made possible because of the generous support it receives from that community. Through its partnerships with public school systems, funding from individual donors, and corporate alliances, the program has been able to continue to grow and serve the needs of the students of Northern Virginia.
The generosity of corporate partners has had a meaningful impact on EIP’s ability to support EIP alumni at Mason. In 2022, the university announced that it was one of seven schools chosen by the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation to share more than $1 million over three years in support of Hispanic students. Mason, which will receive $50,000 per year as part of the Promesa: Hispanic Higher Education Initiative, appreciates the major gift, which supports EIP alumni who identify as Latinx and choose to study at the university.
Now, Mason is proud to announce that CACI International Inc, a $6.7 billion national security company that provides expertise and technology to U.S. government customers headquartered in Reston, Virginia, has made a gift of $200,000 to establish the CACI Scholars program.
CACI has been a longtime friend to Mason. The company has been a generous sponsor of Mason’s College of Engineering and Computing, and welcomes many Mason students as interns each year. CACI also employs hundreds of Mason graduates.
The CACI Scholars initiative will support 10 students who are alumni of the EIP program, enrolled at Mason, and pursuing degrees in computer science, electrical engineering, or mechanical engineering. These scholars are identified by EIP in their senior year in high school and are welcomed into a cohort-based model designed to support their long-term academic and career success.
Each of the CACI Scholars will receive an annual scholarship or book award to reduce the cost of tuition and related fees if the full need is not met through the student’s financial aid package and/or through a Mason Virginia Promise Grant, designed to close remaining financial gaps for standard undergraduate tuition after all other gift aid has been applied. They will receive a stipend to assist with the cost of at least one high-impact career readiness practice such as attending a conference, completing a certification, or conducting research.
They also work with a dedicated Mason Success Coach who will develop targeted strategies for exploring academic programs, engaging with the campus community, and meeting milestones for timely degree completion. Dedicated peer mentors will provide tailored support for first-generation student success, and each scholar will have access to a University 100 transition course to facilitate a seamless transition to Mason during the student’s first semester.
Within CACI, each CACI Scholar is connected with a dedicated mentor who can provide first-hand knowledge of the industry and company. The scholars will be eligible for a paid internship experience at CACI in a job that is related to the student’s degree program or area of interest.
CACI Scholars will also have access to cohort-based programming, hosted by EIP, CEC, and CACI, focused on academic success, identity exploration, sense of belonging, and personal and professional growth.
The goals of the program are ambitious – the hope is that participation in the initiative will result in the scholars remaining continuously enrolled in a full-time, degree-seeking program at Mason until completion of their degree, graduate from Mason within a six-year timeframe from the date of matriculation, develop key soft and hard skills necessary to succeed in a STEM-related career upon graduation, develop and utilize core academic success skills necessary to succeed in college and beyond, develop key competencies related to the success coaching relationship, develop strong, rooted relationships through peer and professional mentoring and cohort-based programming, and obtain a STEM-related position upon graduation as part of the next phase in their professional career.
Glenn Kurowski, CACI’s Chief Technology Officer, is actively involved in the CACI Scholars’ experience, and stressed the importance of widening the pipeline for workers skilled in technology. “I love working with students on their technical learning path, and love getting others in our company engaged with the next generation of talent,” said Kurowski. “Experiential learning is the key to developing passion and engagement around your area of study – and that leads to a highly successful career.”
“We are extremely excited about our partnership with Mason and the creation of the CACI Scholars program, which is the first of its kind. Through this partnership with Mason, we are empowering and building the next generation of STEM talent within our community. We realize that many of these students face obstacles in their pursuit of a college education and we want to help remove some of these barriers,” said Jeana Plews, CACI’s Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
“A partnership like this truly complements the students’ educational experience,” said Davis. “Our EIP students have worked extremely hard to get to this point, to enrolling at Mason. This opportunity to work with CACI helps them to imagine what’s possible on the other side of their university experience. It gives them something to keep working towards after college.”
Plews understands how mentorship and exposure to industry can help to broaden the CACI Scholars’ possible career paths. “We want to provide students hands-on opportunities to learn about CACI and the different technical career paths available as they work towards their degrees.”
The first cohort of CACI Scholars was enrolled during the 2023 fall semester. Plews attended the May 2023, EIP graduation ceremony for the rising college students, and shares their high hopes. “The inspirational stories told by these Mason students and alumni of the program were moving and impactful. The CACI Scholars program will continue this momentum and ensure that future generations of technical talent have the same opportunities as previous awardees.”