Wilmington’s 6th annual HBCU Week takes place next with events in Wilmington and one at Delaware State University in Dover.
HBCU Week takes place from Wednesday, September 21 through Sunday, September 25.
Its mission is to expose local high school students to the history, pride, and academic offerings of HBCUs.
The other goal is to encourage young people to attain a new level of educational achievement.
Ashley Christopher is special assistant to Mayor Purzycki and coordinator and manager of HBCU Week.
"This year we have a lineup of very exciting events a concert, a comedy show, a battle of the bands, a block party, but the cornerstone event and the most impact is generated at our college fair,” said Christopher. “We have 34 HBCU's that will be present here in Wilmington for our college fair. We already have thousands of students signed up from the Delaware area to attend."
The fair is at the Chase Fieldhouse and enables students to engage with college recruiters and corporate partners discussing admission, scholarships, and internships.
Over 3,500 local students have been admitted to HBCUs through the fair, and they’ve been awarded more than $23 million in scholarships.
Ashley Christopher is special assistant to the mayor and coordinator and manager of HBCU Week. She says a new scholarship will be given out this year.
"The Mike Purzycki Changemaker Scholarship will be available to a student from Wilmington, Delaware who is headed to an HBCU, and we'll give this award out every year for the life of the foundation. So $10,000 will go to a student from Wilmington every year that's headed to an HBCU," said Christopher.
The link to apply for that scholarship opens on September 23 at HBCUWeek.org.
The week also includes 7th and 8th grade students from Wilmington touring DSU on Thursday.
