VCU professor to present scholarships

By Laura Arbogast

RICHMOND, Va. – Domenic Sica, M.D., is a man on a mission to make a difference in the lives of Richmond City schoolchildren. For the last five years, the Virginia Commonwealth University professor has been creating unique opportunities to involve middle-school and high-school students in the Richmond community.

"We need to encourage our inner-city youth to become active citizens and community members," said Sica, chair of the Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Hypertension. "They are the ones who will shape the future of the Richmond community."

An avid sports fan, Sica is using VCU sporting events to integrate children into the community. Sica’s newest initiative will take place on Feb. 3 at the men’s basketball game that will match VCU against American University. Sica will present six $1,500 college scholarships to Richmond City high-school seniors. A committee composed of Sica, a high-school student and several members of the university community will select the scholarship recipients. Selection is based on the student’s academic standing and contributions to the community.

Sica’s activities in recent years include giving away thousands of VCU men’s basketball tickets to area school children as well as sponsoring student free-throw contests and free health and blood pressure screenings at games. Over the next two years, Sica hopes to offer more scholarships and create some events that involve the VCU baseball program.

"I see sporting events as a vehicle to help young people," Sica said. "It gets kids off the streets and gives them a fun and supervised environment to interact. My hope is that more people will get involved in this effort and we can generate more financial support for our kids." Sica said. "We have to keep reaching out to our children."

Sica’s community vision doesn’t end in Richmond. He is hopeful that in the future other inner-city communities will use and benefit from similar programs.

Scholarships will be given out during half-time of the VCU-AU basketball game, which will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Stuart Siegel Center, 1200 W. Broad St.