Metro

WS U's Renewed Appeal

Scholarships, honors program, research center help attract high-quality incoming freshmen.

Don Cohen
Special to the Jewish News

T

hree Scholars Day programs
brought about 1,000 high-
achieving incoming freshmen
and their guests to the Wayne State
University campus in Detroit to learn
about program offerings, receive schol-
arships and claim a place in the Honors
Program.
These programs — important to the
future growth of this urban university
— were held Feb. 1, 10 and 11.
A grade point average of 3.5 or bet-
ter entitles students to a minimum of
a $6,000 scholarship for their four-
year undergraduate experience, which
comes close to covering the cost of a
full year's tuition. The program has
been a great success, starting with 723
students four years ago, and now attract-
ing about 1,000 participants.
After a series of welcomes and
speeches, students participate in a
group interview with university rep-
resentatives who can help arrange
additional scholarships through the
various colleges and schools as well
as 60 private scholarships for Wayne
undergraduates.
They also meet with the various
schools and college representatives,
have lunch in the residence halls as a
way to encourage them to live on cam-
pus and take a campus walking tour.
Decisions also are made for the high-
ly competitive Presidential Scholarships
that provide a free ride for four years
for undergraduates, and even for eight
or nine years through special programs
at the schools of medicine (MedStart),
business administration (B Start),
engineering (GradStart) and pharmacy
and health sciences (HealthPro Start).
About 10-20 students receive these
scholarships and enter these programs
each year.
Dr. Jerry Herron, who oversees
all Honors Program operations, is
encouraged not only by the number of
students that Scholars Days attract, but
also by their high quality and the ability
of Wayne State to provide them top-tier
education at one of only three Michigan
universities to attain the highest rating
as a research university. The University of

Wayne State University student Daniell Nadiv, 16, of Huntington Woods welcomes an
incoming freshman during a recent Scholars Day program.

Left: Dr. Jerry Herron, who
oversees the WSU Honors
Program, with Eugene Driker,
chairman of the WSU board
and who regularly takes part
in Scholars Day interviews.

1,500 student-Honors Program
that stresses community, service,
research and career.
"We provide for a community
of like-minded young scholars."

Michigan and Michigan State University
are the other two.
"We are able to provide an academic
home for students with high expectations
at a top research university in a great
metropolitan center," Herron says of the

Happy At Wayne
Daniell Nadiv, 19, of Huntington
Woods attended Scholars
Day two years ago. This year,
she shared her excitement at
being a WSU student with the
Feb. 1 audience. She also wel-
comed freshmen at the other
gatherings. Nadiv received a
Presidential Scholarship and a
place in the MedStart program,
one of the four specialized pro-
grams that seamlessly combine
undergraduate and graduate studies. She
also is pursuing an undergraduate degree
in Near Eastern Studies.
"It makes you a better person to be
able to mix your humanities and science
courses',' she explains, "because eventually

you will have to mix with different people
and relate to them.
"Since I was 8, I always knew I wanted
to go to Wayne, live in Michigan and help
Detroiters," Nadiv says, crediting her fam-
ily for their strong influence on her early
decision. But the "mix" is also a big part of
why she chose Wayne State.
"It's really important because I'm going
into the health care industry that I under-
stand people from different cultures:' she
says.
"The more I'm at Wayne, the more I like
it," Nadiv says with a smile.
She likes the access and interaction
with top teachers, the sense.of community
in the Honors Program, Hillel of Metro
Detroit, the campus, the opportunities a
urban university provides and the chal-
lenge.
"It's a great school:' she says. "It's the
school for future leaders. It's large enough
for an active social scene and small
enough to build your own groups."
A commuter her first year, she now
lives in the.2-year-old Towers Residential
Suites, which she describes as "like an
apartment, but it's dorm life." She chairs
the campus Jewish Student Organization
that presents cultural and social programs
to bring Jewish students together as well
as connect with other student groups,
including the Muslim Student Association.
"I recommend Wayne State to every-
body:' she says, while acknowledging
things are sometimes difficult for pro-
Israel students like herself. "There are
negative things, but we're working to make
the situation better:' she says.
"There are a lot of Jews at Wayne and
there is Yiddishkeit (a Jewish feeling) on
campus:' she says, giving the example of
lighting Chanukah candles with fellow
students.
She keeps kosher and observes Shabbat.
She says the university has been accom-
modating by providing kosher meals
— as they did at Scholars Day — and
even rescheduling classes that conflicted
with Jewish holidays. At the same time,
the fact that her roommate is a Pakistani
Muslim helps makes the cultural experi-
ence complete.

Dates for Scholars Days in 2008 are not

scheduled yet, but can be found in the future
at www.scholarsday.wayne.edu .

February 22 2007

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