SPRINGFIELD — After an overnight trip to Westfield State University, where he got to check out the dorm rooms, dining commons and meet college students, Adrian Ortiz started to really visualize himself in college

"We stayed overnight and that was cool, we learned a lot about college life, " said Ortiz, a senior at the High School of Commerce who will attend Springfield Technical Community College in the fall. Ortiz is one of "100 Males to College," an initiative of the Springfield Public Schools and Massachusetts Department of Higher Education in partnership with STCC, the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Westfield State University.

A celebration of the first year of the program and the 100-plus males involved in the program was held Monday night at CityStage.

The pilot program was the brainchild of Yolanda Johnson, executive officer of student services for the Springfield Public Schools, and Cynthia Orellana, assistant commissioner for Access and Success Strategies for the state Department of Higher Education. Both women had a similar vision for a program that would target young men in an urban community and help them reach college.

"This is really about transforming the lives of our young men in the city of Springfield," Johnson said. "It's about college access and success. We are going to help them get to college and through college."

Johnson said that in Massachusetts, males are not graduating at the same rate as females, and males of color and low income males are not graduating at the same rate as their peers. All of the seniors in the 100 Males to College will graduate from high school next month, and all of them are enrolled in college, except for three who have joined the military.

"This program provides them opportunities to develop the skills to establish a college-going identity, and we are also addressing issues around masculinity and identity so that they become comfortable in their skin. We want them to understand their significance in society and see their value and their worth.

The students participated in everything from group retreats to team building exercises, college campus visits and the opportunity to earn college credit.

Storlen Webster, a student at Springfield High, was attracted to the program because of the duel enrollment program, which allowed them to take college courses while in high school.

"At first I was scared because I thought I was going to have a lot more school work, but I had a really nice professor who encouraged me," said Webster, who will attend STCC in the fall. "It showed me that I knew more than I thought I knew."

For Samuel Mercado, a senior at the High School of Science and Technology who will go on to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, the experience gave him an opportunity to interact with young men from all of the area high schools.

"I think it made it more fun because you are so used to seeing your friends and talking about their plans for college, but we got to meet other students from all the other schools, and they may have different questions and thoughts about college," he said.

The celebration included comments from administrators as well as also students and family, who talked about their experience with the program.

Bruce Williams Jr. said he has seen a change in his son since he joined the program. Born premature and with cerebral palsy, doctors expected Bruce Williams III to be blind and have difficulty walking. On Tuesday night, the junior at the Renaissance School strutted to the stage to join his parents.

"Being a part of a brotherhood and taking trips and building a bond with these young men has helped him tremendously socially, and not to mention academically because once he realized that he could go to college, he just became even more determined," he said. "I am so grateful as a father for this program, which has put pictures and words to the things we have already tried to tell him and instill in him about the importance of education."

As the family took their seats, Williams' fellow students gave him a standing ovation.

Mayor Domenic Sarno gave the closing remarks at the event and told students he hopes they will succeed and then return to the city to inspire other young men to achieve their goals.

"Sometimes we all stumble and take a little bit of a fall, but you are a brotherhood and that means someone will be there to pick you up and set you straight and say that you can make it," he said.