Hundreds of Star Scholars Prepare to Earn their Associate Degree, Are Honored with a Cording Ceremony

More than 1,000 City Colleges of Chicago Star Scholars are expected to earn their associate degree in the 2024-25 school year. These scholars gathered along with family and friends for the Star Scholar Cording Ceremony on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at Malcolm X College, 1900 W. Jackson Street in Chicago.

During the Star Scholar Cording Ceremony, City Colleges leadership presented the royal blue cords that the Star Scholars will wear to the City Colleges Commencement ceremony on May 3. More than a hundred Star Scholars were in attendance along with their families and friends, City Colleges of Chicago leaders, faculty and staff.

“I was in the middle of deciding whether or not I was going to go to college because of the cost. Then I found out I was a Star Scholar and the scholarship made it possible for me to focus on my studies full-time without burning myself out at work—and now I’m graduating with a 4.0 and transferring to a university with no debt to study engineering,” said Malcolm X College student Rosio Almazan. “I’m so thankful for everything that I’ve achieved and all the support I was given.”

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 Shoulders Fund high school with at least a 3.0 GPA.

“The success of our Star Scholars proves that when financial obstacles are eliminated, college dreams and the success that follows becomes a reality,” said Chancellor Juan Salgado, City Colleges of Chicago. “I commend each student for their dedication in high school to become a Star Scholar and now I celebrate their achievement in earning their associate degree. Their potential has no bounds, and I’m excited to see what they achieve next.”

The Star Scholarship program was launched in 2015, and since then, almost 20,000 graduates of the Chicago Public Schools and partner Big Shoulders Fund Catholic high schools have been recognized as Star Scholars. This academic year, more than 1,000 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, DePaul University, National Louis University, University of Illinois Chicago, Northeastern Illinois University, and Roosevelt University.

“It is an honor to support students with the Star Scholarship as it provides financial support along with other resources for students who may think college is not an option for them,” said Star Scholarship Director Rhonda Hampton, City Colleges of Chicago. “To see our students hard work on a daily basis and have the opportunity to celebrate their achievement at the Star Scholar Cording Ceremony is a blessing.”

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