Some students set to graduate this month were recently honored at a luncheon for Act Six and City Builders scholarship recipients.
Warner Pacific University hosted the event which was attended by program donors, staff, and faculty. The students were gifted a copy of the book “Maximize Life!: What Every 20 Year Old Should Learn Before They Are 40,” by keynote speaker Ian Beaty.
The final cadre of Act Six scholarship recipients graduates this year, as WPU expands its investment in the City Builders program.
In 2009, WPU partnered with the Portland Leadership Foundation (now The Contingent) to launch the Act Six program. Act Six was a full tuition, full need scholarship awarded to a small cadre of scholars who participate in a months-long precollege training program.
The inception of the program at Warner Pacific coincided with the recognition that the institution’s mission, enrollment and programs needed to better reflect and serve students in our immediate neighborhoods and in the city of Portland.
Many changes have taken place over the past dozen years, and the institution is still on an active journey to be a university that provides inclusive, equitable and accessible education to all students.
In 2013, when PLF initiated the Act Six Academy pilot, Warner Pacific jumped in to test this model. After two years of trial the pilot was discontinued by PLF, but WPU continued to embrace the approach and renamed the program to “City Builders” (based on Nehemiah, Chapters 3 and 4).
The City Builders Scholarship program is awarded to 10 undergraduate students. Students receive $2,500 each academic year they attend WPU for up to four years. City Builder Scholars act as ambassadors for the university through activities such assisting the Student Success and Engagement division with events such as: Knights Orientation, career fairs, and attending university events with community members.
Scholarship applications through Warner Pacific University’s website. The deadline to apply is June 30, 2024, with a priority deadline set for May 31, 2024.