Nine Exceptional Students Celebrated at Black InGenius Banquet at Salk Elementary

Eight students from Jonas Salk Elementary and one from Hage Elementary were recently recognized for their successful participation in the Black InGenius Initiative, funded through the University of San Diego.

Last Thursday, June 8th, at Jonas Salk Elementary School in Mira Mesa the BIGI Alliance Banquet was held to celebrate the nine students, all from the Mira Mesa community, who were chosen to participate in the Black InGenius Initiative (BiGI). The program is aimed at empowering and support ing 6th through 12th-grade students as they journey through their middle school and high school years.

The goal: to ensure their successful graduation from high school and subsequent enrollment at Universi ty of San Diego (USD) or any other university of their choice. The initiative, which is tasked to provide con sistent academic support, will ultimately pave the way for the students’ undergraduate education. The pro gram is administered by USD through a $1.5 million grant from the San Diego Foundation (SDF) Black Community Investment Fund.

To be considered, the nine students submitted creative pieces, including drawings, paintings, music, songs, poems, essays, or spoken word, along with a substan tive YouTube explanation of their work using a pre-selected BiGI questionnaire.

This summer sixty more sixth-graders will start their BiGI journey, with the support of USD faculty and staff. For students who complete the full seven years of BiGI participation and are accepted into USD, the university has pledged to provide a personalized financial assistance package with funding for those with a demonstrated financial need.

“The Black InGenius Initiative represents a bold step towards unlocking the immense potential within our community ’s talented students,” said Dr. Jane Smith, Dean of USD’ s School of Educational Leadership & Educational Sciences.