He's Paying It Forward Big Time

An excerpt from Essence - 

This HBCU Alum Turned a College Fair Into An Organization That Generated $52M in Scholarships-Here's How

CREDIT: SHENAY RIVERS

“With grades like these, you won’t even get into community college.” 

When Andres Martin recalls his final days of high school, they aren’t with much fondness. His guidance counselor told him his options were limited leading up to graduation. Fortunately, through the support of his family, he pivoted and looked into schools with programs that aimed to not only provide a traditional curriculum but also offer college success skills for incoming freshmen. 

The Connecticut-native didn’t have much insight into Historically Black Colleges and Universities as a teen. 

“I remember my mother and my aunt trying to encourage me to keep my head up and be positive,” he said. “This led to me to move in with my aunt in Dallas and attend an HBCU tour to view schools like Texas Southern, Prairie View A&M, & Grambling State. I ended up learning about a lot of strong legacies and impactful leaders who graduated from HBCUs and envisioned myself being on one of these campuses.” 

Shortly after the tour, Martin applied and was accepted into Grambling State University, which ultimately changed the now 31-year-old’s life. Also a graduate of Howard University, Martin said he often volunteered on-campus as a way to reach back and expose aspiring college students to the value of the HBCU experience they would have otherwise had no idea about. In fact, despite some preconceived notions, these institutions have been making an impact in the lives of their students that extend beyond the classroom. 

UNCF reports a “whopping 25% of African American graduates with STEM degrees come from HBCUs. Eight HBCUs were among the top 20 institutions to award the most science and engineering bachelor’s degrees to black graduates from 2008-2012. An HBCU graduate can expect to earn an additional $927,000 in their lifetime, which is 56% more than they could expect to earn without their HBCU degrees or certificates. From start to finish, an HBCU education is a setup for success.” 

Martin wanted to give back to HBCUs and encourage enrollment, so he created HBCU Night in 2019, a non-profit organization that creates awareness for Historically Black Colleges & Universities through large-scale events like college and resource fairs. These programs, Martin says, are critical to addressing access gaps Black students have when applying for college. 

Seventy-two percent of Black students take on debt as they seek their degrees, as opposed to 56% of their white peers. And while college enrollment in this group has increased significantly over the years, African American enrollment at the nation’s most elite colleges has remained mostly the same. 

Martin has been making significant strides to change that. To date, HBCU Night has facilitated 1,611 scholarship offers amounting to more than $52 million. He recently sat down with Essence to discuss the incredible impact of HBCUs and why his organization is transforming the college fair experience. 

https://www.essence.com/news/money-career/hbcu-night-andres-martin/