Many students in our community find the transition from high school to college challenging. To encourage local students to pursue higher education and achieve their dreams, United Way of Southern Nevada (UWSN) has partnered with Cheyenne High School to sponsor 20 students in a pilot dual-credit program through the College of Southern Nevada (CSN). The program helps students like *Lana get a head start on college courses and gain confidence to pursue college and a satisfying career.
Through the program, UWSN provides financial tuition and transportation assistance to students. This support has helped Lana and her family tremendously. According to Lana, “Without the financial assistance offered by UWSN and the support from the Cheyenne High School staff, the transition to college would have seemed insurmountable.”
Lana expressed that her experience at CSN has helped her academically and personally. ”Before starting the program, I had no idea what it would be like to experience college courses or what it would be like to be a college student,” shared Lana.
Additionally, the dual enrollment class has helped Lana with grow comfortable with public speaking, understand the need for time management skills, and form relationships with goal-oriented students. She believes UWSN’s support has allowed her to apply what she is learning at CSN to real-world situations.
The Cheyenne High School dual-credit pilot program reinforces UWSN’s work with the Las Vegas Talent Hub through the Lumina Foundation, which helps students from diverse backgrounds enroll, persist, and graduate with a post-secondary degree or certification and obtain sustainable employment. UWSN’s goal is to increase the percentage of adults in Clark County with an Associate’s Degree or higher in zip codes with adult education levels below 33.1%. To help UWSN continue to provide support to first-generation students in our community, please consider making a gift today at uwsn.org/donate.
*Name changed to protect student privacy.