DETROIT — Lawrence Technological University and the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) celebrated the first cohort of the Blue Devil Scholars Program during an appreciation dinner held at Sampson-Webber Leadership Academy Oct. 25. Each scholar received a certificate of appreciation, along with a drawstring backpack and flash drive bearing the logo of LTU’s Marburger STEM Center. There are 16 scholars in the first cohort of the Blue Devil Scholars Program.
LTU and DPSCD established the Blue Devil Scholars Program (also known as the Blue Devil Promise) in August 2015. The partnership is intended to enhance the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Architecture/Art and Mathematics) curriculum in DPSCD institutions. The Blue Devil Promise provides scholarship support for Sampson-Webber students to earn an LTU college degree in a STEAM discipline and pursue a successful career. After graduating from Sampson-Webber, the Scholars will attend Detroit Collegiate Prep at Northwestern, where they will earn not only a high school diploma, but also 12-15 college credit hours towards a STEAM degree from LTU.
The celebration included notable guest speakers – Andre Clemons of Dassault Systemes and Shawn Caggins of AT&T – who engaged the scholars about their successful careers and offered words of encouragement. Clemons challenged the students to think creatively about establishing their own business and developing ideas to further help their communities. Caggins shared how she moved up the corporate ladder at Michigan Bell, which is now AT&T. Clemons and Caggins are both members of the Advisory Board for the Blue Devil Promise.
Also in attendance were Karla Craig, Sampson-Webber principal, Kenyuano Jones, principal of Detroit Collegiate Prep, Kalonda McDonald, STEM LIFT-Maker Minded State Coordinator, and the Rev. Samuel Spruill of Tabernacle Baptist Church, which is also a community partner of Sampson-Webber Leadership Academy.
Additional information about the Blue Devil Scholars Program is available on the LTU’s Marburger STEM Center website, https://www.ltu.edu/stem-center/
Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 100 universities for the salaries of its graduates, and U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best Midwestern universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.
Congratulations on this terrific program, LTU.
And very cute that LTU added Architecture to Art in STEAM.
Way to go!