When Dan Ginn came to Northern Kentucky University as an undergraduate, he fell in love with the campus, saying it felt like a fresh start. After earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from NKU, he knew he wanted to give back to the community that supported him by working in higher education. Now, as the director of the Young Scholars Academy (YSA), Ginn gives back every day. 

“I decided I wanted to go into higher education because of my experience as an NKU student,” he says. “I think that grounding myself in that every day and remembering it was because of people who sat in seats like mine that I sat across and I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I could do this every day. I could impact people in that same way.’ So, when I get to interact with our students through YSA and remember the impact that could happen on an academic level, a personal level, career exploration level, whatever it might be—that's really powerful to me, just knowing I could be that person for someone else.”

YSA provides an early opportunity for high school students in the northern Kentucky region to earn college credit. Through the program, NKU partners with local public high schools, mostly aiming to serve students who may not otherwise have the opportunity to pursue a college education. 

“Students come here at the beginning of their junior year and they have two full years of college immersion,” Ginn says. “They take a full-time course load just like any other student would here on campus, and they have the opportunity to earn an associate degree and credits to put toward a bachelor’s degree later on.”

Ginn says it’s a holistic program in many ways. Students don’t just come to campus and take classes; YSA provides various programming to help them develop from Day 1 while thinking about career exploration, academic development, personal goals and life paths.  

“YSA is an attractive option for students who are looking for something different from their high school environment and are ready to explore their career options in a new way,” Ginn says. “The goal was to create an immersive, developmental experience that’s both accessible and affordable for students that helps leverage their skills and their talents to allow them to go wherever they want after high school.” 

When YSA launched in 2020, it was designed to be an innovative new option for high school students in the region, whether they want to continue their education in college or enter the workforce right away. It began with a pilot program in the Kenton County School District, starting with three high schools from one district, and has since grown to include nine high schools across seven total school districts. With more than 150 students, this year’s incoming YSA cohort is the largest in the program’s history, almost equal to the number of students who graduated from the program’s first two cohorts, proving a large expansion in the number of students who are utilizing YSA. 

Ginn says the program’s No. 1 strength is the many ways it provides support for students. In their first year in YSA, scholars are organized into learning communities—groups of students with similar interests led by a program staff member—where they can lean on each other for support in their courses and seek help if needed. YSA advisors also conduct regular check-ins, including grade checks, to make sure students feel supported both academically and personally. From the YSA staff to district personnel and campus partners, Ginn says support is central to the scholar experience and that he is constantly impressed with the ways in which the community shows up for YSA.

What sets YSA apart from other dual-credit and early college programs is that it is not residential; students are immersed in a full-time course load on NKU’s campus while continuing to have a strong connection with their home high schools. Ginn says maintaining the students’ connection to their high schools helps them remain encouraged and engaged, and it allows them easier access to support where it’s needed.  

“Students are still performing in their high schools’ theater productions and they are performing with their choirs or on the football team or academic teams or any other extracurriculars they have,” Ginn says. “In YSA, they’re still able to have that strong connection to their home institutions, which is meaningful to a lot of them.”

Another aspect of YSA that sets it apart from other early-college programs is its GPA requirements. All dual-credit programs in the state of Kentucky are required to have certain GPA benchmarks at the state level. Ginn says YSA is different in that the program is not exclusive to students with the highest GPAs. Though the program has many students with high GPAs, it also has students with benchmark level grades that perform just as well. 

“It’s not just about having the highest GPA or being a picture-perfect future college student as much as it is about being motivated to learn and grow and do something positive for yourself,” he says. “We want to make sure it feels like anyone can come here and learn something and grow in some way that feels meaningful, and not feel held back if they encounter challenges in this new academic environment or because they also have to go home at night to take care of family or they have to work to help provide for their family. We have a lot of students who—that’s their reality.”

This past year, YSA was able to open a foundation account after receiving its first program donation. With this donation, staff are able to think about the program’s next five-year timeline in a meaningful way. Ginn says the donation also opens new doors for YSA’s success.  

“Beyond being able to expand what we do and offer new opportunities for students, this donation also shows the state that there’s a commitment in the region to this program, which could lead to even more resources and investment into the scholars overall,” he says. “We will be able to utilize these resources to not only hone in on the things that we’re already doing and make them better, but also think about how else we can expand and serve the community that maybe we weren’t able to prior without the resources that we have now.” 

Going forward, the program hopes to continue its momentum in not only expanding resources to students, but also growing its staff to create a larger capacity to support students in an even more personal and enriching way. In light of YSA’s five-year anniversary at NKU, Ginn is already thinking about what the next five years of the program will look like, especially now with additional resources at their disposal. 

“As we think about the next five years, we want to get in front of students earlier,” he says. “We want students to know that this is an option down the line and this is something they can start looking forward to, ask questions about and get support now. Alongside that, we can also connect with them earlier to think about other ways to get involved with NKU and learn about the opportunities here before committing to YSA.”

Ginn also hopes that more school districts in the region will adopt a partnership with NKU and YSA, reaching even more potentially at-need students in the area. Additionally, the program is developing partnerships in the business community, expanding YSA’s offerings by making sure students are well connected to opportunities for future careers and internships, solidifying the holistic nature of the program.  

“You’re earning college credit, you can earn a degree while you’re here, you’re also engaging in career exploration, you’re maybe having hands-on opportunities with businesses, all while growing as a person and feeling like you are part of a community where you are valued and cared about,” he says. “That way, it feels as much as possible that this is a holistic experience preparing you for college and life after high school.” 

Ginn and the YSA staff say they strive continuously to provide support for students where it’s needed, and recognize that student needs change year over year. Over the next five years, the program’s priority is to make sure YSA evolves to fit what students need most, whatever that may be. 

“These students are going through college at such a young age, and they're experiencing things in a way that maybe we never experienced in life,” Ginn says. “The world is different every day, and there's always so much going on, so I think that the opportunity to connect and build relationships with the students has been the most valuable part of the experience because they are so invested in their journey and each other's journey, and how they can support one another.”

For more information on NKU’s YSA program and to apply, visit their webpage.