In 2020, 5X provided the opportunity for a college education to all eligible students in the LeBron James Family Foundation’s (LJFF) oldest I PROMISE Network class by guaranteeing four years of tuition, and one year of room and meal plan.
The tuition program was the culmination of an existing partnership between Kent State and the LJFF in which I PROMISE students attend summer enrichment college preparation programs at the university; those existing programs have continued.
“We are so pleased to take our partnership with the LeBron James Family Foundation to this next level and welcome these students fully into the Kent State family,” Kent State President Todd Diacon said at the time. “Kent State looks forward to the time when our campus is teeming with I PROMISE students.”
Senior Vice President and Provost Melody Tankersley said then that the partnership is another way in which Kent State is working to have a life-changing impact on the young people of Northeast Ohio.
“We have already seen the impressive results that the I PROMISE Network is having on its participating students,” Tankersley said. “We are so pleased that Kent State will become the next step in the educational journey of these amazing young people, and so happy that we can start them on their way to exciting careers and lives full of inspiration.”
Tankersley, however, noted that while Kent State is helping to make the college dream a reality for these students, it is the students who really made it happen.
The oldest class of I PROMISE Network students, who are now freshmen at Kent State, were juniors when the program began and became eligible for the Kent State package as college freshmen in the 2021-22 academic year. To be eligible for the tuition support, I PROMISE students must be successfully admitted to Kent State, fill out required financial aid forms and complete a requisite number of community service hours each semester.
Through the program, Kent State covers the tuition that remains for the I PROMISE students after they receive funds from traditional financial aid sources and will provide the first year’s room and meal plan.
Students must remain in good academic standing, must complete a minimum number of credit hours annually and must take part in a required number of community service or volunteer hours.
“Flashes always give back,” Tankersley said. “Much like LeBron, we believe in service to our community.”
The program includes work-study jobs on campus, which will give the students a true “sweat equity” stake in their education, she said. The tuition guarantee includes no loans that would have to be repaid.
Tankersley said offering the freshman year room and meal plan is an important step to ensure the students remain in college and on track to achieve their degrees.
At that time, the to help cover other expenses for these students, including the remaining three years of room and board, books and other experiential opportunities.
The LJFF’s I PROMISE program supports more than 1,400 Akron students in grades three through 10 through mentoring, college and career preparation and wrap-around family support.