Bobcat Underground Scholars Goals:
Recruitment:
Underground Scholars Initiative (USI) at UC Merced will provide a variety of outreach events and workshops for incarcerated, formerly incarcerated, formerly incarcerated as minors and/or system impacted scholars. We will work closely with a pipeline of California community colleges to provide assistance with the UC application process, ensure that admitted scholars are UC ready and aware of important resources important to overall student success including but not limited to housing and financial resources.
Retention:
Underground Scholars Initiative at UC Merced strives to retain scholars by providing academic and personal support services that empower scholars to make self-sustaining progress towards degree attainment and ensure professional success after graduation. Through intentional collaborations and partnerships, USI will facilitate coordinated support services that empower scholars to transition into the culture of higher education by providing sense of community, peer counseling, scholarship information, financial aid advising, career planning and other resources to ensure the success of each scholar.
Advocacy:
We will advocate to establish a consortium of campus and off-campus partners to acknowledge and address the residual effects of incarceration, especially those that create social, emotional, and logistical obstacles that can interfere with a scholar’s pursuit of higher education. Additionally, USI will advocate for scholars at the state and federal level and fight to remove the systematic barriers for incarcerated, formerly incarcerated and system impacted scholars.
