Villa Maria College recently received a grant from the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation in support of the college’s Achieve Program for students with learning differences.
The grant totals $136,252 and will help support the program during the first three years of operation. Villa Maria is part of the 2 percent of colleges and universities nationwide that offer this type of program.
The Achieve Program provides specialized services to students with learning differences to support each individual in the transition to college. Students will develop effective self-advocacy and goal-setting skills, which prepare them for academic and social success during college and their careers.
Students in the program receive one-on-one support from tutors and advisers as well as specialized programming. Additional benefits include priority registration, expanded use of adaptive equipment and specialized communication with parents.
Melissa Zgliczynski serves as director of the program and will supervise the staff of professional tutors. The program will be housed in the recently renovated second floor of Felician Hall.
The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation supports community programming that results in children, adolescents and young adults affected by substance abuse, learning disabilities, mental illness and intellectual disabilities achieving their full potential.
For more information, call 896-0700 or visit www.villa.edu.
This article was originally published in the Cheektowaga Bee.