A generous grant of $9,000 from North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) has been awarded to Salem College to fund a new Women’s Economic Empowerment Success Program.

Launched this year, the program is designed to empower women to succeed in college and beyond. It is comprised of forty-five first-and second-year students who have not yet declared a major. The grant stipulates that fifty percent of students who participate in the program must identify as an ethnic minority and that seventy-five percent qualify for need-based financial aid.

“I am pleased that we have been able to establish a program that will help increase students’ persistence and the retention of our students – particularly those who are underrepresented in higher education,” says Monica Boyd, Director of Student Professional Development. “A significant focus of the program will be encouraging students to choose majors and prepare them to think about jobs after graduation.” 

Students selected to participate in the Women’s Economic Empowerment Success Program will engage in a number of programs and initiatives, including attending the Women’s Economic Empowerment conference, completing the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and Strong Interest Inventory assessments, career treks, mock interviews, a speaker’s series, and a professional etiquette dinner.

Program activities will help students identify strengths and interests that will aid them in selecting a major and career path. To meet program requirements, students must complete seventy-five percent of the activities offered.

The first program activity – a career trek to Vela Strategic Marketing and Public Relations in Winston-Salem – was well attended, and students in the program will soon complete and discuss results from their MBTI assessment.