THE CIVIC HUMANITIES PROJECT
AT NORTH CENTRAL COLLEGE
WELCOME!
_____________________________
The Civic Humanities Project prepares Freedom Scholars
- rising high school seniors from across Chicagoland -
for success in college through a year-long program
in three parts:
Great Books Seminars
Freedom Scholars will spend three weeks in June in residence on the North Central campus for an academic and extracurricular program built around small seminar discussions of classic and contemporary texts on enduring questions about human nature and government.
College Readiness Workshops
During the fall 2023 semester, Freedom Scholars will return once a month to the North Central campus for mentoring on their college applications and for workshops on how best to prepare for college, including topics like finding financial aid, maintaining physical and mental well-being, good study habits and time management skills.
Civic Engagement Projects
In the spring of 2024, the Freedom Scholars will under-take projects for civic engagement that they have planned together since the prior summer, with mentoring from local civic leaders and community organizations, putting the ideas they have studied to work in their own neighborhoods.
Through a generous grant from the Teagle Foundation, the Civic Humanities Project will be entirely free of cost to Freedom Scholars. Including academic mentoring from North Central College faculty and undergraduates in academic and extracurricular activities through each phase of the program, Freedom Scholars will receive:
All books and other learning supplies;
Expenses for field trips in and around Chicago;
Three weeks of room and board on the North Central College campus;
Access to North Central facilities, including the Oesterle Learning Commons, Merner Field House, Wentz Science Center and the Res/Rec Center gym facilities; and a
A custom Civic Humanities Project Freedom Scholar t-shirt.
Freedom Scholars will be rising high school seniors when they enter the program in June, and will be graduating seniors when they complete the program. Though all students who apply will be given consideration, preference will be shown for applicants from low income families, from groups that have been historically marginalized, and who are in the first generation of their families to go to college.
We are also pleased to have the following high schools across Chicagoland as partners for recruiting Freedom Scholars:
Bolingbrook High School in the Valley View School District, East Aurora High School and the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora, and North Lawndale College Prep in Chicago.
Not only is the program free of cost, but all Freedom Scholars who complete the yearlong program will be awarded a $1000 stipend and two credit hours of transferable credit from North Central College. Other benefits of being a Freedom Scholar include:
Mentoring on critical reading and writing skills at a collegiate level;
Preparation for all aspects of college life and study;
Guidance on preparing college applications;
Letters of recommendation from North Central College faculty;
Lasting familiarity with some of humanity’s greatest works of thought and expression; and
A network of new friends and mentors.
Applications will be accepted
through the end of March, 2023.
If you or someone you know
will be a high school senior in 2023-24;
plans to attend college in Fall 2024;
likes reading challenging texts and discussing big questions; and
wants to prepare for reading and writing at the college level;
We Encourage You To Apply!
For More Information, please contact:
Dr. Stuart Patterson,
Chair of the Shimer Great Books School at North Central College, at skpatterson@noctrl.edu.
or
Dr. Janis Fitzsimmons,
President of the Center for Success in High-Need Schools, at jan@center4success.com.
You can help us promote the Civic Humanities Project!
Please feel free to download and send this digital poster (double-sided in the PDF) or print and post it where it might help get the word out about our program!
CHP Recruiting Flier.pdf