The Health Sciences & Technology Academy, known as HSTA, is a one-of-a-kind mentoring program in the state of West Virginia that helps participating high school students enter and succeed in STEM-based undergraduate and graduate degree programs. HSTA marshals the efforts of hundreds of mentors―teachers, community members, higher-education faculty and staff, and the HSTA participants themselves―through a framework that supports students facing social and financial challenges to obtaining a diploma and moving on to college.
HSTA Scholars Are . . .
80% rural
32% African American
73% female
73% first-generation college attendees
63% financially disadvantaged
And They Achieve Phenomenal Success
2,370 students have completed the program since 1998
99% of our graduates have attended college
91% of those students have earned a degree from a West Virginia college or university
85% of our college graduates continue to live and work in West Virginia
$30,000 per year is what they earn on average above their parents’ highest salaries
