Dozens of Young Scholars Welcomed Into BiGI Program

Dozens of young San Diego students became part of a growing community over the weekend. The University of San Diego held its fourth annual BiGI induction ceremony Saturday, welcoming students from sixth to ninth grade into the program that provides camaraderie, unique educational opportunities and puts them on a track toward college.

BiGI was launched in 2023, a partnership between USD’s School of Leadership and Education Sciences (SOLES), the San Diego Foundation and San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). The program brings in students and their families, providing responsive and innovative teaching and mentorship that helps students thrive academically and personally. It’s aimed at addressing long-standing disparities in educational access and opportunities.

SOLES alumna and superintendent of SDUSD, Fabiola Bagula, PhD, spoke at the ceremony, and stressed the importance of feeling seen in education, and celebrated how BiGI sees the brilliance in each one of the program’s scholars, allowing them to explore their interest and achieve their dreams.

“I know for me, as a young person growing up, my family was not prepared for me going to college. And so as a result, I ended up not having any support. Not because they didn't have a desire to support me, but because they didn't know how,” said SOLES Dean Kimberly White-Smith, PhD, who’s also one of the BiGI scholars’ “godmothers.” She and Pamela Gray Payton, vice president of the San Diego Foundation, serve as mentors.

“So having the village and having workshops with the parents and caregivers, in addition to the students, gets everyone involved. So they're both learning together and they're growing together,” White-Smith said.

Saturday, BiGI welcomed new students to the program in a ceremony that hit capacity in the Peace and Justice Theater. Family and friends, educators and community leaders were there to support the new BiGI scholars. At its core, BiGI is an educational program. But Saturday’s induction ceremony showed that just as important as preparing children in the classroom, is fostering community, and showing them they’re loved and supported.

“All of our curriculum, all of our activities, everything we do is centering the child,” said Ronald Clark, who works at the San Diego County Office of Education and facilitates the BiGI program. “It’s removing all ego from the work that we do and making sure that our students know that they're the central and primary reason for everything that we do. And this induction ceremony is simply an opportunity for us to celebrate the fact that these students are now a part of this community officially.”

In May, BiGI held its “Rites of Passage” ceremony, marking the transition of its first cohort from middle school to high school. Saturday, one of the BiGI ninth graders, Nicholas Hanton, spoke to the incoming scholars. In Hanton, the students could see a peer, someone who’d walked in their shoes and explained all BiGI had done for him. Teachers and mentors play a crucial role in the program, but so too do the students, and the relationships and network they build among themselves.

“He's a mirror. He's a mirror to them. He's like, ‘I was sitting where you were,’” said Novian Yarber, PhD, who helped launch BiGI at USD and has since moved to a role with the Prebys Foundation. “It's so funny to watch (Hanton). He really has grown. Now seeing him as like a young man is crazy to see. It's really cool.”

For dozens of new BiGI scholars, Saturday was the start of a years-long, life-changing journey. For the program, as the first cohort enters high school, BiGI leaders are looking forward to the new journey they’re all about to embark upon, and how it could help change how we approach education.

“I'm excited about each and every single child that’s part of BiGI. I'm excited for each and every single caregiver that's a part of the village. I'm excited for the schools that participate and want to change,” White-Smith said. “But what I'm most excited about is that we are creating a model that could work anywhere in real time. This model has the potential to work anywhere. And for me, that's the most exciting thing.”