“I’m going to be here one day,” announced an eighth grader from East St. Louis when passing the Laboratory Sciences Building at Washington University on Monday.

The student was one of 50 East St. Louis middle schoolers invited to spend the day at the University as part of a program called “Let’s Get it Started: Preparing for College Prep.”

Located just 20 minutes away from Wash. U., East St. Louis has one of the highest crime rates for any St. Louis metropolitan area, with 18 times the number of murders per year than the national average and 17 times the number of assaults. The city’s schools were featured in Jonathan Kozol’s 1992 book “Savage Inequalities,” an exposé on the shortcomings of public education in America.

At East St. Louis High School, where 99 percent of students are black, the average ACT score is 15.1. Among Washington University students, the middle 50 percent have ACT scores in the 31-34 range.

These numbers represent a larger set of achievement gaps in America: According to a recent Columbia University study, black students are only half as likely as white students to earn a bachelor’s degree by age 29.

Tackling this on a national level is a daunting feat, and according to leaders in the University’s Association of Black Students (ABS), local solutions are where to begin.

Monday’s event aimed to expose middle school students from East St. Louis to college life and help get them excited about the prospect of an education beyond high school.

Parents and teachers accompanied the young students during their visit to Wash. U. as they toured campus, ate lunch and asked questions of current students. Alvin L. Parks, the mayor of East St. Louis, also visited Wash. U. during the event and interacted directly with the students. In addition, the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity spoke about membership in Black Greek life.

According to Brandon Wilson, community service officer for ABS, the central goal of the event was to demonstrate the attainability of a college education to the students before they enter high school.

When Wilson asked what the students planned to do in order to get into college, one girl replied, “I already have good grades and behavior, but I’m going to work even harder.”

Wilson said that the students’ reactions are what made the day meaningful.

“While many people put a lot of time and planning into this day, it was the students’ and parents’ excitement that was of real importance,” he said. “I certainly think the day was a success, but there was nothing I could have done to make it so. It was all up to the students, parents and teachers, and they followed through.”