According to Michealle Larkins, Vice President, Grant-making Program Officer, Bank of America, N.A., “The Balfour Foundation is pleased to partner with Anna Maria College in its multi-pronged approach to diversify its campus. The initiatives will better prepare its students to function as graduates in a diverse society and will help increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation of multicultural students,” he shares.   “The AMCat Summer program in particular exemplifies the Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation’s mission of promoting college readiness and access for underserved populations in New England by helping the College’s students of color succeed and graduate.”

 

AMCat Summer is an intensive five-day, supervised, residential transition program that includes individualized tutoring and peer advising sessions. It is intended to bolster the writing, math and study skills of freshmen entering Anna Maria College. Through engaging team-building activities, classroom sessions, social events, campus exploration, and workshops addressing leadership and personal development, students learn about the resources and services that are available to assist them in achieving academic success.

 

In addition to the summer bridge program, the Balfour Grant has opened up new opportunities for AMC to expand its multicultural initiatives and programming, as well as increase the College’s capacity to address a variety of issues that often impact students' abilities to succeed in college. The Grant also supports the addition of staff to support the Office of Multicultural Affairs.