REDDING, Calif. – Shasta College wants to enhance the educational experience for African American students.

The Umoja program is designed to help African American students navigate college. It is open to everyone who is interested. But it’s specifically designed to increase the retention and success rates, as well as the graduation and transfer rates, of African American students.

The Umoja program offers cultural workshops, tutoring, and mentorship.

“We help them because if we can get them the tutors and the mentors and so forth that have been successful, then they can guide them and give them the confidence more than anything that they can do it you know and so forth,” shared Jerry Brown, the Director of the Umoja Program at Shasta College. “And it shows them that they have someone who cares how well they do.”

There are more than 40 students in the Umoja program right now. It's not too late to sign up, click here to learn more about the program.