Belmont University is expanding a program that gives full-ride scholarships to disadvantaged graduates from Metro Schools. The Bridges to Belmont program started in 2013 and is expanding to 50 students per year.
Antionedra Maupin graduated from Whites Creek High School and is now a senior at Belmont — one of the 123 program recipients currently enrolled. She’s the first in her family to attend college and says the program has extended beyond free tuition, fees, room and board.
“The community that Belmont has given me is absurd,” she said at a press conference on Thursday. “My father just passed away about a month ago, and the amount of emails, the amount of cards, the amount calls I got … was the best thing that could have ever happened to me, and I don’t know any other college that’s doing that.”
With the expansion, graduates from more Metro high schools will also be eligible, including Glencliff, Hillsboro, Hillwood, Hunters Lane, McGavock and Overton. For the first eight years, the program has only been accessible to students at Stratford, Maplewood, Pearl-Cohn and Whites Creek.
Eventually, the program expects to open to any student graduating from a public or charter school in Nashville, with a priority on first-generation college-goers.
Bridges to Belmont requires a minimum 3.0 GPA and a 20 on the ACT. Prospective students can read more here and are encouraged to talk to their high school guidance counselors.
As part of the announcement, Belmont also made public its plans to hire an assistant provost and assistant director who will oversee “student success and flourishing” and help reduce barriers on campus that might impede students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Bridges to Belmont program was created initially to help improve diversity on campus.
“My Belmont scholarship was a life-changing experience for me, and we want more Nashville high school graduates to have that same opportunity,” retired HCA CEO and Belmont Trustee chair Milton Johnson said. He and his wife gave $10 million to help the program’s endowment in 2015. “This expansion of the Bridges program will demonstrate to local students that Belmont believes in them — we believe in them — and there are no limits to what they can achieve in life.”
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