Since its inception in 1991, Calvin College's Entrada Scholars Program has been designed to prepare ethnic minority high school students for life after high school. 
The 2000 version of Entrada (which means "gateway" in Spanish) will have that same significant goal. 
This year's Entrada program will kick off on Sunday, June 25 when 26 ethnic minority high school students from around the country move into Calvin's Veenstra Hall. At 5 p.m. the students and their parents will have dinner with Calvin's Entrada staff. After dinner the parents will depart and Entrada 2000 will officially begin. 
The heart of the Entrada Scholars Program is a regular three-week Calvin College summer school course that Entrada students take with the Calvin students. A true college immersion program, Entrada sees the high school students not only take a regular class, but also live in the residence hall, eat in the dining hall, study in the library, shoot hoops in the gym, order late-night pizzas, do a service project, get a heavy dose of computer skills -- in other words, have a typical college experience. 
That, says Calvin's Rhae-Ann Booker (above), Entrada director, is the whole idea. "We want students to get a true sense of what college -- particularly Calvin -- is all about," she says. "At the end of Entrada, students have taken an actual Calvin class for credit and they've lived on campus for a month. The Entrada experience gives them a good look at what college life entails and what it takes to succeed in college." 
One of the critical factors in the success of the Entrada students is the presence of Academic Coaches. Trained educators (most are local teachers), the ACs go to class with the students, take notes, do the readings and huddle their Entrada students in the afternoon to work on study skills, essay requirements and more. 
Of the 26 scholars this year, an even half dozen will come to Entrada through the assistance of churches who have partnered with Calvin in the Pathways to Possibilities program, an urban youth initiative which sees Calvin's Office of Pre-College Programs partner with West Michigan churches. 
This year's students represent many cultures, including African American, Hispanic, Native American and Asian. They also represent geographical diversity. There are 17 Entrada students from Michigan, seven from other states such as Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois and Massachusetts and two students who hail from Canada. Michigan students represent the entire state. 
There are five Grand Rapids area students and five from the Muskegon area. Other Michigan cities represented at Entrada 2000 are Clinton Township, Dafter, Detroit, Holland, Lenawee, Mt. Clemens and Port Huron. 
Since its inception in 1991, almost 250 students have completed Entrada. Some have gone on to Calvin; some attended other colleges. Almost all have pursued some sort of post high school education. 
Entrada will have its opening worship service on Wednesday, June 28 at 7 p.m. in Gezon Auditorium. Reverend John Matias, associate director for multicultural admissions at Calvin, will preach. The Entrada Commencement Service will be held on Sunday, July 23 at 11 a.m. in the Calvin Chapel.