JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Shining a light on historically Black colleges and universities. Today, hundreds of high school students in Jacksonville and beyond came out for the 5th annual “Legacy HBCU College Fair.”
Throughout the day, hundreds of students got the chance to meet with recruiters and gather important admissions information in hopes of finding the college that spoke to them. Some Sandalwood High School walked away feeling encouraged.
“I see a lot of colleges. I’m impressed that everyone came out to show their different colleges. I like Albany a lot,” Nasir Steward said.
“I like the different things, the different programs that they have for the youth, and how they help everyone come together as a community,” Osrrius Jackson said.
“I want to go to college to play football and get a scholarship,” Archie Frazier said.
In all, 20 historically Black colleges and universities across the U.S. were represented Saturday.
“We have everybody from Bethune-Cookman to Alabama State, to Alabama A and M,” Nelson McCoy said.
McCoy is the executive director of the Center One Foundation, which organized the college fair. McCoy hopes more students will consider HBCUs in the years to come. Just like he did.
“I’m originally from Los Angeles, and I came to Florida to go to Bethune-Cookman. I wanted students to understand the possibilities that are within HBCUs. Where they also have the chance to have scholarships, it’s a lower cost attendance than compared to its peers,” McCoy said.
Not to mention, history and legacy. The Boltons brought their son Hank, a 9th grader at Yulee High School. They’re excited to see something like this being offered.
“I went to high school in Augusta, Georgia, and this kind of thing was not available to us. To see Jacksonville is putting this on for the community, I think it’s amazing,” said Ashley Bolton.
“We want our kid to be exposed to as best representation as he can, people who look like him. And I’ve already been seeing that a lot. That’s important. All these HBCUs, he knows that he can go to a school like this and be successful,” Henry Bolton said.
Also, at the college fair were workshops on how to make the most out of your college experience and even ways on how to get in. There was also a workshop on how to write the best entrance essay.
Students who were unable to attend the college fair on Saturday can learn more about the Center One Foundation here.
