City Colleges Celebrates Class of 2024 Star Scholars at Annual Cording Ceremony

On Wednesday, April 24, 2024, City Colleges of Chicago recognized a special group of students—those who are earning their associate degrees during the 2023-24 academic year through the Star Scholarship. Hundreds of soon-to-be graduates and their guests filled the room at Malcolm X College to celebrate the students for their hard work and academic achievements. View photos from the event and read the full press release below.

More than 900 Star Scholars prepare to earn their associate degree, to be honored at a cording ceremony at Malcolm X College on April 24

CHICAGO — (April 24, 2024) More than 900 City Colleges of Chicago Star Scholars are earning their associate degree in the 2023-24 school year. Many will gather together along with family and friends to take part in the Star Scholar Cording Ceremony on Wednesday, April 24, starting at 6:00 p.m. at Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Jackson Street in Chicago.

During the Star Scholar Cording Ceremony, City Colleges leadership will present the royal blue cords that the Star Scholars will wear to the City Colleges Commencement ceremony on May 4. More than a hundred Star Scholars will be in attendance, along with their families, City Colleges of Chicago leaders, faculty, and staff.

The Star Scholarship is a last-dollar scholarship that covers up to three years at City Colleges for tuition and books, after the application of financial aid. Students qualify for the Star Scholarship if they graduate from a Chicago Public School or partnered Big Shoulder Fund partner high school with at least a 3.0 GPA.

“The success of our Star Scholars demonstrates that when you remove financial barriers, college dreams are realized,” said Chancellor Juan Salgado, City Colleges of Chicago. “I applaud each student for working hard in high school to become a Star Scholar, and now I salute them for earning their associate degree. Their potential is unlimited.”

The Star Scholarship program was launched in 2015, and since then, almost 16,000 graduates of the Chicago Public Schools and partner Big Shoulders Fund Catholic high schools have been named Star Scholars. This academic year, about 918 students are expected to graduate as Star Scholars. More than half of the Star Scholars will go on to transfer within two years to a four-university.  The top transfer universities for Star Scholars include: Chicago State University, National Louis University, University of Illinois Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, and DePaul University.

“I’m very proud of this program because it shows students that hard work pays off.  I look forward to the Star Scholar Cording Ceremony because it’s a time of achievement and excitement,” said Star Scholarship Director Rhonda Hampton, City Colleges of Chicago.

To learn more about the Star Scholar program, visit www.ccc.edu/starscholarship.

###