The “I’m Going To College” program, aimed at introducing young children to college environment, will be held Friday, May 31 when 81 fourth graders from Mendota’s Mc Cabe Elementary visit California State University, Fresno.

The early awareness program, conducted by Fresno State, Chela Financial and the Central Valley California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP), begins in the University Business Center on campus at 9 a.m.

The students will tour the campus and participate in mock sessions about admission applications, purchasing books and paying the fee among others, said Elsa Valencia, adviser for Cal- SOAP.

The program is carried out at several college campuses each year as a way to increase ethnic minority student enrollment in colleges by reaching students at an early age, Valencia said.

Frances Pena-Olgin, director of University Outreach Services at Fresno State, said while high school courses and grades count for admissions to college, a college education builds on knowledge and skills acquired much earlier.

“Studies have shown that the average child begins to develop a commitment to education and future careers at ages nine and ten,” Pena-Olgin said. “The ‘I’m Going to College’ early awareness program is designed to help advance that development, especially among low income and ethnic minority students.”

Cal-SOAP was founded in 1990 by a group of financial aid administrators to help increase the number of minority students attending college by educating fourth graders about higher education with visits to university campuses, said Daisy Dalrymple, program director.

Chela Financial is a San Francisco-based not-for-profit student education finance company. Since its inception in 1979, the company has become the largest not-for-profit student lender and has helped more than 800,000 students achieve their educational goals with more than $3 billion in loaned funds, said Dalrymple.

For more information contact Pena-Olgin at (559) 278-2048.