Riverland will host a banquet tonight for graduates of its college prep academy to celebrate their drive to gain a college education.

The Be Your Best College Prep Academy offers summer classes for people 16- to 22-years old who have overcome challenges to enroll in post-secondary education. Many students have faced financial barriers or have had to learn English as a second language. The academy’s focus is on improving students’ math and English skills. In addition, students take college success classes to better equip them for college.

“I think the classes are valuable to the students because it helps them to build confidence by coming to college and succeeding. It helps them build skills so that when they pursue higher education, they can do so successfully,” said Kristi Beckman, the Be Your Best program director.

Beckman also said the classes provide the students access to college resources.

The Be Your Best academy is a day long course that was held June 14 through Aug. 5, with the finale held tonight. The celebration is designed to give students their certificate for completing the courses and reward them for their collegial goals.

There will be two speakers, Tanieka Petty and Kiara Hernandez, who will share why they chose to participate in the program and the process of being accepted into college. Both will be high school seniors this upcoming year. Students will also share a photo collage, papers they completed during their English classes and a video they created highlighting their experiences together.

“It’s a really enjoyable program and the students have a really good time. It shows them that higher education is really valuable,” said Beckman. “I think that everyone participating in the program dedicated a lot of time and effort. They’ve done a phenomenal job here.”

The award ceremony will be tonight at 5 p.m. at Riverland College.