After celebrating its 20th anniversary earlier this month, the PEOPLE program named longtime PEOPLE staff-member Gail Ford as director.
Ford, the PEOPLE program’s new director, embraces UW-Madison’s mission statement “to attract and serve students from diverse social, economic and ethnic backgrounds.”
“We mitigate some of the gaps the students may have because the majority of our students are first-generation college students, so they may not have access to a family member, definitely not in the home, where someone has the experience on how to go to college,” Ford said. “The desire we find is always there, but having the desire and knowing the process —-- there’s a gap, so we try to fill that gap.”
The Precollege Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence promotes success in college by providing eighth graders through seniors in college with mentors, campus resources and scholarships. They assist through after-school tutoring services, American College Testing preparation, college application support, internships and college visits.
“We try to foreshadow within the program what they need to know when they arrive to the doors of the university to try to be successful,” Ford said.
Nearly 94 percent of students who finish the precollege program enroll in college. Once PEOPLE students get to Madison, their support is continued with access to on-campus tutors, internships, leadership opportunities and attend through a full-tuition scholarship.
Sierra Geiger, a UW-Madison freshman involved in PEOPLE, notes how PEOPLE’s ACT tutoring and summer courses benefitted her throughout high school.
“PEOPLE is one of the main reasons I got into Madison and has been stressful at times, but worth it for sure,” Geiger said. “Coming here for the last four years and taking classes has kept me on track.”
Geiger encouraged all students to apply for the PEOPLE program.
“If you’re thinking about applying for PEOPLE, and you’re scared of the commitment for how it’ll affect you, it is so worth it,” Geiger said. “It can be tedious & stressful, but in the end you get to make the decision of how rewarding it is and what you’ll make of yourself and your education.”
Gina Musso is a Senior Staff Writer at The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as College News Editor and Features Editor, focusing coverage around student government, campus COVID updates and in-depth reporting. Follow her on Twitter @gina__musso.
