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Alumni Gifts & LIVES CHANGED

Opening doors to a world of learning.

From Students to Scholars

For the past few years we’ve shared stories on these pages about gifted middle and high school students from low-income families who, with help from the Johns Hopkins CTY Scholars program, have achieved academic success and admission to some of the nation’s top colleges and universities.

Now eight years after the successful scholarship and outreach program began, the first crop of CTY Scholars is about to reach a major milestone: college graduation.

Samantha Dixon of Jarrettsville, Maryland, is a Johns Hopkins CTY Scholar who will graduate this spring with a degree in English and international studies from Yale University. A 2008 graduate of North Harford High School, she is the first student in the history of her rural high school to attend Yale and the second student to attend an Ivy League school. The Summer Programs and CTYOnline courses Dixon took, the network of friends from diverse backgrounds she made, and the academic advising she received were invaluable, she says. “CTY opened my mind at a time it needed to be opened,” she says. “Without CTY Scholars I would never have gone to Yale.”

Dixon is just one of the 240 students who completed the Johns Hopkins CTY Scholars program and made the transformation from student to scholar. The program, founded in 2004, identifies high-potential eighth-graders from low-income families and provides them with the support and challenge they need to gain admission to top colleges and universities. Some 86 percent of CTY Scholars have been accepted at colleges and universities ranked “very competitive” by Barron’s College Guide.

The program has blossomed and there are currently 358 Johns Hopkins CTY Scholars, students who hail from cities across the country including New York, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Washington, San Francisco, Seattle, Newark, and Phoenix.

After she graduates in May, Dixon hopes to find a job as a consultant, at a law firm, or working for a nonprofit focused on the environment. Whatever job she takes, her formal education is far from over, Dixon says. “I’m not sure what lies ahead, but whatever it is I’d like a job that will allow me to pursue graduate school part time.”

Corporations, foundations, and individuals who are currently supporting the Johns Hopkins CTY Scholars include:
  • Ahmanson Foundation
  • The Ronald W. Burkle Foundation
  • Civitas Foundation
  • Clifford Burnstein and Sabra Turnbull
  • Richard Cooper and Judith Areen
  • James Del Favero
  • Barry Ford
  • Goldman Sachs Foundation
  • Perry and Donna Golkin Family Foundation
  • JPMorgan Chase Foundation
  • LLL Foundation
  • John and Alethea Lutz
  • Anthony and Lary Muller
  • Nasdaq OMX Group Educational Foundation
  • John and Laura Overdeck
  • Prudential Foundation
  • Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation
  • Peter McCabe and Hillary Richard
  • Paul and Chandler Tagliabue
  • Stone Family Fund
  • Young Family Charitable Foundation
  • Weingart Foundation
  • Theodore and Nina Wells

Many Countries, One Vision

When you find something good, you share the news. And for the last six years that’s exactly what CTY parent and Advisory Board member Michael Tse has been doing about CTY.

The Hong Kong businessman started small, recommending CTY to friends seeking challenging experiences for their gifted children. Then last summer he agreed to become founding chairman of CTY’s East Asia Advisory Group, a collection of a dozen parents committed to expanding CTY’s programs in Hong Kong and beyond.

“Word of mouth isn’t enough,” says Tse, whose 18-year-old son Jackson participated in CTY Summer Programs for three years. “I see how the program helped my son and I know that CTY can help other talented students but there are a lot of parents in Hong Kong that don’t know about it. We want to market CTY and make sure everyone has access.”

To date the group has raised more than $200,000 in gifts and pledges. Some of these funds are earmarked for helping to support a full-time staff person in Hong Kong who will introduce CTY to schools and parents through testing, events, and outreach efforts. The group also hopes to fund CTY scholarships for local students.

Central to their work, says Tse, will be building on the successes of the CTY summer program in Hong Kong, a partnership with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Since opening in summer 2010, the program has enrolled more than 400 students.

Hong Kong is just the beginning, Tse says. In the future, the group hopes to expand CTY’s programs into such countries as Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, and possibly China.

“We all share the same vision,” Tse says. “We believe in CTY.”

We sorted the length of DNA strands, made bacteria glow using the genes from fluorescent jellyfish, and learned about the properties of many genetic disorders. And I made a lot of friends from all over the planet who think the way I do and share the same passion: Wanting to stand out and be someone important in the world. Thank you CTY for opening my doors to this experience. ”

— Diana
CTY summer programs scholarship recipient, Studio City, California