Published: Saturday, September 27, 2008 in The Whitworthian.

The Act Six informational meeting, intended to educate the campus community about Act Six, was held Sept. 22 in the Hixson Union Building Multipurpose Room.

Sophomore Yong Kim and senior Jeremiah Sataraka, both Act Six scholars, and senior Jeff Upton described the program. Other speakers included Rodney McAuley, Spokane Act Six coordinator and Esther Louie, assistant dean for intercultural student affairs.

“There’s a long history of diversity outreach on our campus,” Louie said.

Act Six is the latest manifestation of Whitworth’s desire to have a ethnically diverse student body, Louie said.

Founded by Act Six national director Tim Herron, the program is in its sixth year at Whitworth. The program encompasses intensive leadership training, a full ride scholarship and post-graduation community integration.

Herron, a former Tacoma math teacher, envisioned the program after watching many of his most promising students drop out of college, according to the national Act Six Web site.

Since the program’s inception, Act Six has expanded to seven colleges in Washington, Oregon, and Tennessee.

Whitworth has seen many changes due to the direct influence of Act Six, including the introduction of the Gospel Choir, which was founded by Act Six scholar and 2008 alumna Sha’Nay McQuirter, according to the Spring 2007 issue of Whitworth Today.

Speakers talked about the success of the program and its impact on Whitworth.

The Act Six program draws its name and inspiration from the story of the early church as described in the Bible in Acts 6. The theme of the story is the need for leaders to be selected and trained to aid the unrepresented.

Through a rigorous application and training regimen that spans several months of the scholars’ last year of high school, the program instructs and inspires the students to be leaders in their communities and forces for positive change, according to the national Act Six Web site.