In February, Wingate University announced its intention to invest more than $2.5 million in a group of 20 local eighth-grade students. Members of the inaugural class of Wayfind Scholars will receive a full-tuition scholarship if they successfully complete the free college-access program, a new partnership between the University and Union County Public Schools.

“Scholars, take a look around the room. Each of the people here is rooting for you to succeed,” said Tim Myers, Wingate’s outreach and support coordinator and the director of Wayfind, as he welcomed the students from East Union Middle School and the Health Sciences Academy at Monroe Middle School to a kickoff luncheon at the Batte Center. “This is celebration number one. We will soon be celebrating small victories as you go through high school, celebrating your high school graduation and your acceptance to college.”

Wingate University President Rhett Brown said the Wayfind program, in which Wingate students will meet with scholars after school twice a week, had its beginnings some 15 years ago. While attending a College Board conference, he learned that the national recommendation for school staffing is one guidance counselor per 200 students and that, at some high schools, it is closer to one per 700.

“That’s when I realized that colleges and universities have a responsibility to partner better with high schools as they support students,” Brown said.

After he was inaugurated as Wingate’s president in 2015, he began to think about ways to expand a small high-school mentoring program already in existence. About a year later, he found an enthusiastic partner in Andrew Houlihan, who had just taken over as superintendent of Union County Public Schools.

“I could sense his energy around this subject, and we decided, ‘Let’s take a swing at this. Let’s lift students up as early as eighth grade and put them on a journey,’” Brown said.

Wayfind mentors will help students create a road map for college planning, lead discussions about career options and college costs, and help students explore resources for SAT and ACT prep. They will also take mentees on college visits and help them learn to write a top-notch college-application essay.