(Posted 12-03-99)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Additional Information, Contact Robin Adams, 336-334-5371

UNCG NAMES FOUR IMMIGRANTS
TO FIRST CLASS OF CENTURA SCHOLARS

GREENSBORO - Getting a college degree will be easier for four of the state's newest citizens thanks to help from Centura Bank and The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The scholarship winners, who will be announced on Dec. 9,  include students from Vietnam, Cambodia, Rowanda and Laos. The winners, who now live in Greensboro, are UNCG students, many having earlier escaped their native counties because of war or political persecution.

The Dec. 9  announcement will be at 11 a.m. on the campus of UNCG in the Faculty Center, located next door to the Alumni House.

Centura contributed $110,000 to UNCG to fund the scholarships, creating the first class of Centura Scholars.

In addition to funding Centura Scholars, the money will be used to place a Centura Leader in two immigrant/refugee service organizations to  assist in various ways - helping find jobs, preparing them for citizenship, helping them learn English, helping develop computer skills. The Centura Leaders and the organizations they will work with will also be announced on Sept. 16.

"We are pleased to partner with UNCG to make the Centura Scholars/Leaders program available to reach new North Carolinians," said H. Kel Landis III, Centura's president. "Centura has a long-standing commitment to all North Carolinians and we see this exciting, new program as an extension of Centura's promise to our customers and our communities."

The scholarship winners, each receiving $3,750, are part of UNCG's efforts to reach new North Carolinians, said Chancellor Patricia Sullivan.

"UNCG is committed to reaching out to our state's newest citizens and finding methods to help them adapt to and succeed in North Carolina," said Sullivan, who established a task force on new North Carolinians three years ago. "North Carolina must acknowledge and develop the talents and strengths of this new and young population, which comprises an ever- increasing proportion of the workforce."

In addition to the scholarship, Centura Scholars will complete a community service project. In fact, all of the winners are already working in various capacities within the community as part of UNCG's AmeriCorps Cross-Cultural Education Service Systems (ACCESS) program. ACCESS helps immigrants gain better access to services, get adjusted to life in North Carolina and ultimately become self-sufficient.

ACCESS is a partnership with UNCG and about 20 community agencies. The agencies use ACCESS members in their workplace to work with immigrant and refugee communities throughout the state helping to provide a variety of services.

Centura's grant to UNCG contains several components. In addition to providing support for the Centura Scholars and Leaders, the Rocky Mount-based bank will provide interships to a member of a refugee or immigrant community. UNCG will also work with Centura to develop culturally diverse employee training materials.
 

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