DECATUR, Ga.—It was one of those “Oprah” moments. Ynnel Banks was sitting with a group of students, families and friends during an academic celebration on Georgia State University’s Decatur Campus. The students, members of the new Perimeter Academy and State Farm Scholars program, had just completed the summer semester of college courses—an achievement Banks never thought possible a year ago.
Now she was among a select group of students celebrating a 4.0 grade point average for their summer college coursework. Another 18 students had maintained or surpassed a 3.0 GPA.
Not bad for a student who was unsure of where she was going after high school graduation.
“I knew I wanted to come to a college close to my home, but I didn’t have any idea of how I was going to pay for college; I didn’t have any idea about financial aid,” the Cedar Grove High School graduate said.
That changed when she was accepted as one of Georgia State’s State Farm Scholars. The program pays for tuition at the Decatur Campus, up to $4,000 a year.
As Banks applauded her fellow scholars for their academic achievements, there was another surprise.
“You all will be receiving backpacks from State Farm,” announced Des Potier, director of Perimeter College’s Learning Income and Family Transformation (LIFT) program, which includes the State Farm Scholars program and Perimeter Academy.
Then came screams of delight—the backpacks contained personal laptops.
State Farm had provided 58 Hewlett Packard laptops – enough for each of the Scholars and each Perimeter Academy student.
The gift floored Banks.
Now she has a 4.0 GPA, a new laptop to help with her studies, seven credits already under her belt for the fall semester—and new direction for her life.
“I’ve made a lot of friends this semester; I was not one to go up to people and talk to them before,” she said.
That changed with the scholarship program, she said, which requires recipients to be involved as tutors on campus and in their community. That’s a good thing, as far as Banks is concerned.
“Now I can’t be shy—I have to get involved.”
Banks also is now plotting a definite career path.
“Eventually, I want to be a lawyer.”
Funded through a $14.5 million gift to Georgia State University from State Farm, the LIFT program was created to help students and their families in South DeKalb communities. LIFT uses the university’s pioneering data analytics model to assist students enrolled in two-year college degree programs.
Key to the program is tracking students’ progress, providing the help needed for students to overcome a variety of educational obstacles, supporting offices critical to student success, funding a peer mentoring program and supporting financial literacy programming.
Applications for the fall 2018 State Farm Scholars program and Perimeter Academy are now open. Go to: www.students.success.gsu.edu to apply.