The James Madison University Valley Scholars Program began in 2014, when President Jonathan Alger saw a “need for access and opportunities in higher education” for students “who came from underprivileged economic backgrounds, and who would be first-generation students to go to college, to be able to have that dream.” (“First Valley Scholars Cohort Graduates from JMU,” by Ashlyn Campbell, Daily News Record, 6.21.23, page A1. President Alger had helped start a similar program at Rutgers University before coming to JMU.
The JMU Valley Scholars Program partners with seven school divisions: Augusta County, Harrisonburg City, Page County, Rockingham County, Shenandoah County, Staunton City, and Waynesboro City. The program begins with JMU identifying eligible students in the middle school with the most need in each of the school divisions. (For Rockingham County, students are identified at J. Frank Hillyard Middle School; for Shenandoah County, it is North Fork Middle School.)
Grades, financial status, interviews, and having the ability to pursue higher education successfully are some of the criteria considered. The family of each potential student fills out part of the application, as does the middle school staff. Students begin the program in their eighth-grade year. During high school, opportunities to experience campus life and learn things which will contribute to student success are provided through the school divisions and JMU. Field trips are provided for Shenandoah Scholars in high school to sites such as Mount Vernon and Arlington Cemetery.
Jenna Souder of New Market, Virginia, was one of five students in the first cohort selected at North Fork Middle School.
Souder says “I interviewed for Valley Scholars when I was in 7th grade, then in 8th grade started doing activities on the JMU campus and in the community during the school year and summer break. Valley Scholars really focused on creating an environment where we grew as students and professionally while having fun and creating new friendships. I personally thank Valley Scholars for helping to prepare me for JMU by teaching us proper etiquette when speaking to and emailing a professor, how to write papers and create projects, and present myself in a professional manner.” Of the original five students chosen at North Fork Middle School, four completed the high school part of the program successfully, maintaining required GPAs and other requirements. Three of the first cohort of high school completers who were identified as Shenandoah Scholars at North Fork transferred to the Centennial program at JMU (established by former JMU President Linwood Rose.)
Jenna started JMU in the fall of 2019 after graduating from Stonewall Jackson High School in Quicksburg that spring. Her major was Social Work with a concentration in Family Studies. (Of the 34 students across the seven school divisions in the first cohort, 26 went to JMU.) However, in Spring of 2020, her freshman year changed dramatically with students being sent home early due to the pandemic. Jenna’s sister Tessa, who was also a JMU Valley Scholar, graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School in the spring of 2020. While most JMU students learned from home virtually during Fall, 2020, Jenna and Tessa were given permission to stay on campus due to unstable internet at home, and the need their father safe. His immune system was weak because of multiple transplants. Jenna persisted, and in 2023, graduated from JMU as one of 15 students from the first cohort group and the only student from Stonewall High School to graduate as a Shenandoah Scholar. Jenna now works in a medical office, and serves as a youth mentor at People Places, where she interned during her last semester at JMU. Jenna is now looking at graduate programs in Social Work. You can read more about Jenna’s journey on the JMU website where she is pictured and quoted under the Valley Scholars tab.
According to Donna Abernathy, former principal at Broadway High School, four Shenandoah Scholar students graduated from JMU in 2023. Current Broadway High School principal Dan Sanders reports that one Shenandoah Scholar from BHS graduated from JMU in 2024. Not every high school student identified as a Shenandoah Scholar enrolls at JMU; some get “full rides” at other colleges or universities. Not every Shenandoah Scholar student graduates from JMU in the traditional four years; some are now fifth year students still working to graduate.
Jenna’s sister, Tessa Souder, who was identified as a Shenandoah Scholar at North Fork Middle and graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School as a Shenandoah Scholar, is still a JMU student on track to graduate in December, 2024. Tessa is majoring in Health Sciences with a minor in Business.
The Valley Scholars program at JMU, which works with identified students for five years before they begin college, is a proactive model to achieve college success for underserved students. Students who successfully complete the high school program are eligible for full tuition and fees at JMU for all four years, in addition to support services during their college career. Shawn Mooney, the first Valley Scholars Executive Director who is now Executive Director of First-Generation Student Success (of which Valley Scholars and Centennial Scholars are a part), stated in a recent webinar that Valley Scholars has a ripple effect on families. Two cohorts have now gone all the way through college. He noted that some parents of Shenandoah Scholars have been motivated to start or complete a college degree. Nick Langridge is now Director of the Valley Scholars program.
As President Alger leaves JMU, he leaves behind a lasting legacy through the Shenandoah Scholars program. An endowment fund currently has $7 million committed to Valley Scholars to date, and the BIG BOLD GOAL is to raise $20 million more to continue to provide tuition as more students enter the program (which costs approximately $800,000 per year.) Continued community support of the endowment as well as JMU faculty and staff support is also crucial for the success of future Valley Scholar students.
