This document provides a history and overview of Student U, an academic enrichment program in Durham, North Carolina. It describes how Student U was founded in 2005 by community leaders with a vision of empowering Durham public school students. It grew from an initial group of 50 students to include support programs through college. The document highlights Student U's core values and partnerships within the Durham community that have allowed it to provide opportunities for students to achieve their potential.

2. Student U History
In February of 2007, Anna submitted her
application to participate in a new academic
enrichment program called Student U. As
this first application was received, the
manila envelope symbolized the realization
of a Durham dream that the community had
been working towards for eighteen months.
That June, Anna and her forty-nine
classmates and their families arrived on
campus. Student U made a commitment to
support, challenge, and love these students
as they strived to reach their full potential.
These families made a commitment to
support, challenge, and love this
organization as we strived to reach our full
potential. A true community was formed,
built by Durham, for Durham, and the
Student U journey began.

3. Student U History
Two years earlier, in 2005, a group of 14
community leaders convened at the home of
Tony and Teddie Brown. School Board
members, representatives from University of
North Carolina, North Carolina Central
University, and Duke University, and Durham
Academy administrators sat at a table and
dreamt of a new way to empower Durham
Public School students to own their education.
Mary Williams, Amanda Dorsey, and Dan
Kimberg, three college students, shared their
commitment to working with the community to
build a sustainable and impactful organization.
Guided by what they learned from Tony
Brown’s Social Entrepreneurship class and
their work in education both locally and
abroad, the three students facilitated a
conversation about dreams, brilliance, and the
spread of joy.

4. Student U History
Under the leadership of Bela Kussin and
this fourteen person Start-Up Advisory
Committee, a program began to form. With
core values as its foundation and a crazy
dream as its objective, Student U was
created.
In November of 2013, Anna received a letter
packaged in a similar thick manila envelope
as the one she submitted to Student U
years earlier. Anna was accepted into
Hampton University, the first Student U
senior to receive college admission.
Today, Anna and her classmates walk
across the stage at the Carolina Theatre
and share with the world where they will be
going to college.

5. Student U History
From 2005 until now, countless people and
partners have collaborated to create the
Student U community. Today, as we
celebrate our students and their families, we
also celebrate our organization’s history, a
history that reminds us that when a
community joins together around a common
goal, crazy dreams come true.
Student U’s Original Start-up Advisory
Committee
Beth Anderson, Lynn Blanchard, Tony
Brown, Heidi Carter, Anthony L. Clay, Chena
Flood, Leslie Holdsworth, Bela Kussin,
David Malone, Eric Mlyn, Omega Curtis
Parker, Jan Riggsbee, Steve Schewel,
Michael Ulku-Steiner

7. Taleya Atwater- Johnson & Wales University
Devin Autry- University of North Carolina Charlotte
Casey Barr-Rios- North Carolina Central University
Logan Benton- University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Malik Brantley- Winston-Salem State University
Angelica Cohen- University of North Carolina Charlotte
Rey Cruz- Wake Technical Community College
Francis De La Cruz- Durham Technical Community Center
Dante Evans- University of Maryland College Park
Litehsha Garrett- University of North Carolina Greensboro

8. Raheim Gatling- Durham Technical Community College
Cameron Heath- Undecided
Jayda Henry- University of North Carolina Greensboro
Dyonna Hooper- Johnson C. Smith University
Kameron Johnson- Wingate University
Malcolm Jones- North Carolina A&T
Ana Krah- Appalachian State University
Christopher Lindsay- University of North Carolina Charlotte
Jared Lloyd-Robinson- Fayetteville State University
Jared Lopez- University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Ruvimbo Makonyonga- University of North Carolina
Greensboro

9. Janquella Mayes- Barry University
Alyzia McAlmon- East Carolina University
Diamond McQueen- Norfolk State University
Steneshia Meadows- North Carolina Central University
Daniel Odeh- University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Exeria Poole- University of North Carolina Pembroke
Natalie Rivera- North Carolina Central University
Genessa Rogers- Shaw University
Alexis Rose- Wake Technical Community College
Tabitha Ruffin- Durham Technical Community College
LaTosha Ruffin- University of North Carolina Pembroke
Dashea Smith- Howard University

10. Tyler Spencer- Durham Technical Community College
Bryanna Staton- North Carolina A&T
Armani Thaxton- Durham Technical Community
Robert Traynham- Averett University
Karl Von Zabern- University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Joy Wright- North Carolina A&T
Congratulations!

11. The College Promise
As our first class of students prepare to enroll in
the colleges of their choice this fall, we are
excited to partner with our students and their
families on the next phase of their journey. The
College Promise is not just a program, it is a
commitment.
It is a commitment from Student U that this
community will continue to support students
through college and it is a commitment from
students that they will take advantage of the
opportunity they have worked so hard to earn.
Student U’s College Promise program will
support the successful matriculation fo all
Student U college students.

12. The College Promise
Campus Connect
Our students will receive resource guides for the
post-secondary institutions they are attending in
the fall. These guides will include college
retention services available on the campuses
our students receive acceptance, as well as the
people leading those programs
U-Connect
Each Student U student will be matched with a
Student U Alumni teacher. With regular
meetings, students will gain the individualized
support they need to ensure a smooth transition
to college.
Parent University
Families of our college students will learn from
experts and one another about the road ahead
for their students and the ways they can support
their children through college

13. The College Promise
Student U will also coordinate the following
events for our college students:
Pre-College Retreat and December
Workshops
Workshops will focus on normalizing the
experiences our students encounter in their first
year of college
College Check-Ins
Student U will have check-ins with students
directly at the following points during their first
year: the end of the first week and first month of
school, before midterms and final exams,
Christmas and Spring breaks. All students will
have a one-on-one visit with a staff member at
their college during the first semester.
We are excited about supporting our students
through college. As our newest program, we look
forward to continuing to develop The College
Promise to ensure that it aligns with the
experiences of our students to and through
college.

14. Made For Durham, By Durham
College Promise Sponsors
Burt’s Bees
Red Hat
Fox 50
American Tobacco Campus
Durham Bulls
First Insurance Services
Steve Toler, LLC
Real Estate Associates, Inc.
Sustaining Partners
Durham Academy
Durham Public Schools
Oak Foundation
Stewards Fund

15. Lifetime Transformers
AJ Fletcher Foundation
Butler Family Foundation
Carl and Deb Anderson
Chris and Linda Bailey
Doug Cerny
Duke University Office of
Durham and Regional
Affairs
Dutch Kuyper
F.M. Kirby Foundation
GlaxoSmithKein IMPACT
Award of the Triangle
Community Foundation
Jim and Lauren
Whitehurst
Mark and Cynthia Kuhn
Morgan Creek Foundation
Robertson Foundation
State of NC DHHS
Suzanne Brock
The Grable Foundation
Theus and Pat Armistead
United Way of the Greater
Triangle
William R. Kenan, Jr.
Charitable Trust

16. Made For Durham, By Durham
Founding Partners
Duke University
Durham Academy
Durham Public Schools
North Carolina Central University
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
And our staff, who work to make the
dreams of our students a reality

17. Made For Durham, By Durham
Board Members
Deb Anderson – Director, Wood Partners
Mark Anderson - Attorney at Law, McGuire Woods
LLP
Chris Bailey – Entrepreneur and Consultant
Robb Cadwallader – Real Estate Entrepreneur
Heidi Carter – Chair, Durham Public Schools Board of
Education
Maritza Chirinos – Chair, Guardians 4 Student U;
Parent Representative
Anthony L. Clay – Director of Advancement, Carolina
Friends School
Jennifer Crawford - Pediatrician, Teaching Assistant,
Durham Academy

18. Made For Durham, By Durham
Board Members
Mariah Eckhardt – Director of Global Marketing,
Burts Bees
Lee Hark – Assistant Head of Head and Upper
School Director, Durham Academy
Mark Kuhn – President, Kuhn & Associates, Inc.
Bela Kussin (Board Chair) – Educational Consultant
Wynetta Lee – Dean, School of Education, North
Carolina Central University
Eric Mlyn – Assistant Vice Provost for Civic
Engagement, Executive Director of Duke Engage,
Duke University
Luren Whitehurst – Co-founder, side *

19. TEACHERS
We are destined to change the world.
We will empower our students.
We will learn from each other.
STUDENTS
We are destined to change the world.
We will dream fearlessly.
We will share our brilliance.
EVERYONE
We are role models, teachers, students and
friends
We learn to live, we love to give
We are destined to succeed.
We are Student U!