The Omicron Class

Twenty-two rising sophomores from Alamance County high schools were selected to join the 14th class of scholars in the Elon Academy.

Each cohort is named after a letter from the Greek alphabet. This newest addition to the Elon Academy is known as the Omicron Class. These students were selected from among approximately 130 applicants from across the county.

With the new cohort, the Elon Academy has now served almost 400 scholars in high school and college and has produced 88 four-year college graduates, with eight going on to receive graduate degrees.

I couldn’t wait to tell my parents, and when I did tell my parents, I saw how proud they were of me and it made me even more happy.

Elon Academy staff typically travel to local schools in early April to surprise applicants with news of acceptance into the program. Due to COVID-19, phone calls replaced in-person announcements this spring.

“I was honestly in shock because there were a lot of kids who wanted to be in,” said José Pahua Bejar, a student at Graham High School. “I was proud of myself because I guess Elon Academy liked something that I had.”

Bejar’s classmate, Maria Jimenez Tellez, also received an acceptance call from Elon Academy staff.

“I couldn’t wait to tell my parents, and when I did tell my parents, I saw how proud they were of me and it made me even more happy,” she said.

The Elon Academy partners with local students and their families starting at the end of their first year of high school and continues this partnership through high school, the completion of an undergraduate degree and even on to the pursuit of graduate studies. The students served are from families without a history of college and with a financial barrier to pay for college.

“I think it will be a good experience for how it will be in college and I expect it to be family that I can rely on,” Bejar said. He looks forward to the opportunities Elon Academy will afford him that may also increase his chances of both college acceptance and scholarships. Tellez said she views the opportunity as “stairs to success.”

Leading a small and dedicated Elon Academy staff, Elon Academy Director Terry Tomasek relies on partnerships with local schools to recruit scholars and to support students through the high school years. Local school faculty volunteer in the role of “Elon Academy Advocates.” Will Hemminger ’16 is the Elon Academy Advocate at Western Alamance High School.

“I have a direct connection between the university and community that few alumni have,” Hemminger said.

He feels that his role allows him to “expose and promote underrepresented college-bound students to one of the finest higher education institutions in the country.” Having experienced all that Elon has to offer as a student allows Hemminger “to more effectively guide scholars through all of Elon’s resources that will make them successful at their home high school.”

To date, 100 percent of Elon Academy scholars who have completed the high school phase of the program have been accepted to college and 84 percent of scholars in college are persisting.

Part of Elon’s Center for Access and Success, the Elon Academy is a nonprofit organization and is not supported by university tuition dollars.