Kenyon Educational Enrichment Program (KEEP)

KEEP is a selective four-year program that brings together a group of first-year students who aim to become future leaders on campus. KEEP scholars get a head start on their college careers while forming personal connections on campus, and enjoying the fellowship of a diverse, motivated group of friends.

KEEP's goal is to build a core group of leaders who will promote a culture of excellence throughout the Kenyon community, by inspiring, challenging, and energizing their fellow students. The program selects 24 students from the freshman class who possess strong academic abilities, leadership potential, and a desire to see others succeed. KEEP scholars typically come from diverse ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and represent a broad range of curricular and co-curricular interests.

This six week, on-campus program is first and foremost academic; you will attend two credit-bearing courses, one in expository writing and one in data analysis. Regardless of your academic area of interest, these courses will enable you to practice and solidify foundational leadership skills: verbal communication, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and effective teamwork. KEEP will support the cost of air travel to and from Kenyon for students who live outside of Ohio.

Outside the classroom, you will also learn more about the College and begin making personal connections with the community. You will meet the staff and faculty who make the College a special place, and they will offer valuable insight into strategies for academic and extracurricular success. You will also have experiences both profound (such as visiting the Underground Railroad Freedom Center) and fun (picnics and shopping excursions). Of course, you will have some free time to relax, hang out, and organize your own activities (such as catching fireflies). Please click here to see pictures of various outings from the past.

Although the most important benefits of KEEP are the experiences and opportunities, you will receive funding as well. As a KEEP scholar, you will receive a stipend over the course of the summer, contingent upon successful completion of the Summer Experience. Throughout your first year, you will receive a total of two smaller stipends to be used towards books, which is dependent upon active participation in KEEP. Active participation in this program provides several advantages in your college transition, in just the first year alone. In subsequent years, you will enjoy programs, workshops, employment or graduate school advising, and networking opportunities to further your development as a leader.

To recap, there are lots of benefits to participating in the KEEP experience:

• Students form close relationships with faculty and staff before the school year begins
• Students get a personal sense of what a Kenyon class is like and receive credit
• Students meet a great group of their peers and may even form lifelong friendships
• Students are exposed to many resources and equipped with successful strategies
• Students are compensated for their first year of participation

While KEEP is a selective program, only open to 24 students each year, there are workshops and outings open to other students during the school year through the REACH Mentoring Program and KEEP Scholars joint programming. We encourage any student interested in the academic year sessions to participate.

If you have any questions or would like more information please contact Monique Jernigan, Assistant Director of Multicultural Affairs at 740-427-5846 or jerniganm@kenyon.edu.