At the University of Chicago, we believe that all students should have access to higher education opportunities no matter their background, geographic location, or ability to pay. UChicago knows that students from rural and small-town contexts bring valuable experiences and viewpoints to a college community. However, students from rural and small-town communities are often faced with unique barriers to college admissions because of their geographic isolation. The UChicago Empower access initiative was designed to address the challenges faced by first-generation, low-income, and rural and small-town students. Thanks to a generous donation from Trott Family Philanthropies, UChicago created the Emerging Rural Leaders Program in 2019 to reduce the barriers to college that rural students and families face by offering college admissions programming on-campus and in local communities, providing mentoring and support systems for high school and college students, and updating financial aid policies and scholarships to enable more rural students to pursue higher education at UChicago. By collaborating with Network members and leveraging existing resources and infrastructure created by the Empower Initiative, the STARS College Network at UChicago will enhance and expand the college access work that began with the Emerging Rural Leaders program in 2019.