VT STARS - the Virginia Tech Summer Training Academy for Rising Students - has been a program to motivate economically  disadvantaged high school students to pursue advanced education in information technology or IT-intensive careers in the sciences and engineering. Funding was, in part, from the Fund for the Improvement of Post-secondary Education. During its nine-year run, students from urban and rural high school districts in economically depressed areas of southwest Virginia were engaged through a summer program, receiving guidance and interaction to support their application to post-secondary degree programs. Support from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund enables a longitudinal study of the 100-plus participants who completed the program. The study assesses the program’s effectiveness and its impact on the region.

For more information, see the Virginia Tech Summer Training Academy for Rising Students website.