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Continuing their longstanding commitment and support to the Ashtabula area and demonstrating the important role access to education plays in moving the community forward, the Ducro family recently made a generous $20,000 gift to the Rising Scholars program fund through the Ashtabula Foundation to ������ at Ashtabula.    

“We are extremely honored and pleased to partner with the Ashtabula Foundation to contribute to the start of the Rising Scholars program,” said Sue Ducro, who presented the gift along with her son, J.P. Ducro IV. “This gift is really in honor of my late husband, J. Peter Ducro, and our son, J.P. Our family has always shared a great passion for education and community service. We want Ashtabula County to be the best it can be and provide opportunities for everyone to better themselves.  We believe the success of Rising Scholars will have a tremendous impact on this community for generations to come.” 

The primary focus of the Rising Scholars Program is to support the success of a select group of students who have promising academic ability. Students are supervised and guided through middle school and high school until they enroll in postsecondary education.

The program combines mentoring with community and corporate assistance, creating a support system that prepares young adults, beginning in seventh grade, for life after high school. The program allows them to maximize their all-important high school years.

������ Ashtabula students who have had similar experiences regarding family life or socioeconomic challenges serve as mentors to guide these promising middle and high school students through difficult personal and academic situations. When student participants commit to and complete the program, their tuition is covered at ������ Ashtabula. They will also become the next generation of mentors who “pay back” their community for this generous support.

The program’s first cohort of students met on campus in late August to kick off the program and have already begun working with their ������ mentors.

 “We are deeply grateful for the Ducro family’s support of our campus over the years and this commitment to the ������ Ashtabula Rising Scholars program,” said Dean and Chief Administrative Officer Susan J. Stocker, Ph.D.  “With their generous gift to the fund, the Rising Scholars program can create educational opportunities for young people in our community who may otherwise not have had them.”

For more information on the Rising Scholars program, visit www.kent.edu/ashtabula/rising-scholars.