Project RUSH changing lives at FDTC
At the FDTC Foundation, the goal is to do everything possible to support students. For us, that means raising funds for scholarships, special programs, new equipment and facilities. But it also means supporting and encouraging the many grant-funded programs outside of the Foundation that aim to facilitate student success at Tech.
As Jennifer Mabry, Director of Institutional Grants, says, “We all have the same goal. We’re all focused on student success and removing obstacles.” While the Foundation tends to focus on private grants, Mabry works to secure Federal and State grants for the college. She also prepares the Foundation’s end of year tax letters as well as requests to private foundations. “We often work together to get the information we need for the application process,” she said.
Over the past ten years, the College has received approximately $70 million in grants, and applies for approximately 10-12 grants per year. One of the more recently implemented programs already making a difference both on and off campus is Project RUSH.
Project RUSH, which stands for Removing Under-served Student Hurdles, is a Department of Education grant for African American students who are enrolled in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Healthcare programs. The program was created to improve students’ overall college success, completion rates, and the improvement of educational outcomes in STEM. It was implemented at FDTC in October of 2015.
The objectives of this program are to:
• Increase the number of students who test into college-level courses in STEM or Healthcare by 2 percent each year.
• Decrease the time to credential completion in STEM and Healthcare degrees.
• Increase retention rates by 2 percent per year by implementing student academic and support services.
• Increase the numbers of students who successfully complete a STEM or Healthcare Associate’s Degree within 150 percent of normal time.
RUSH aims to achieve those objectives by offering services like student counseling, a book loan program, academic tutoring hubs, and assistance in finding internship opportunities. The program also hosts tours of four-year colleges, as well as field trips to places like MUSC and Boeing in Charleston. Each of these services helps open doors to students who otherwise would have limited opportunities.
“We focus on under-served and at-risk students,” said Dr. Andre Boyd, RUSH Program Coordinator. “We serve a diverse set of students, and they each face a diverse set of circumstances.”
Dr. Boyd joined the program at FDTC in October 2016. The Darlington County native says that he always been drawn toward working for under-served populations—especially students. His professional background includes social work, special education, and middle school education. Boyd recalls that his own high school alma mater, Mayo High School, faced many challenges due to limited resources.
“So many things can stand in the way of student success, often due to no fault of the student,” he said. “Life is not always fair. But through the RUSH program, we show students that it’s okay to be in need, and it’s even more okay to come together as a community to accomplish our goals.”
Currently, 250 students are enrolled in Project RUSH. That number includes both FDTC students and high school students participating in the dual-enrollment programs through Darlington, Lake City, and Timmonsville High Schools. RUSH high school students have access to tutors while they complete college-level math, science and reading courses. Rush has three tutoring hubs available to its students: Biology, Math, and English/reading. These tutoring hubs exist on the college campus for FDTC students, but two days a week the tutors go to the participating high schools to assist the students there.
The RUSH program may be beneficial not only to students of color, but also to first-generation college students. At FDTC, over 53 percent of first generation students leave college within six years without a degree; forty percent leave within their first year. Dr. Boyd believes that programs that help those students remain in school will be beneficial on multiple levels.
“Our entire institution benefits when our students are successful; it builds our spirit of academic excellence. And as [RUSH] students become graduates, they return their gratitude by serving their community.”
Boyd went on to say that he has high hopes for the future of RUSH, and that the students themselves are the best motivators to continue improving the program.
“Hearing the students’ stories gives me more inspiration than numbers or statistics ever could. Their needs, persistence, and perseverance are amazing. We’ll keep working to develop programming that supports the objectives of the RUSH grant, and that meets the students’ needs.”
To learn more about the RUSH program at FDTC, visit www.fdtc.edu/rush or call Andre Boyd at 843-661-8119.
