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No one succeeds alone. There was no official “theme” for College & Career Connections' (CCC) first scholarship awards ceremony on June 15. But every aspect of the program reinforced this two-part concept: Successful scholars require community support; supporting scholars is a communal responsibility.
Connecting Community and Scholars
Each student speaker – Herbert Benjamin III, Abril Gray-Porter and KaHill Liddell – mentioned those who had helped them weather hardships, graduate from high school and earn college acceptance. They spoke of their own commitments to give back to the community.
Keynote speaker L. Trenton Marsh, author of “From 1.0 to 4.0: Ten Strategies for Academic and Collegiate Success,” told participants, “Your life is the most important teaching tool for others.”
Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander asked students to use their education “to empower others.” She encouraged participants to remember Ward 7, concluding: “Always say where you came from. … Then come back and do your part to improve your community.”
Amin Muslim, Alexander’s director of constituent services, recognized ministers, public servants and others in the audience as “pillars of the village canopy” and encouraged students to continue to call on them in any future moments of doubt.
Dorothy Douglas, Ward 7's State Board of Education representative, acknowledged the role of “parents, grandparents and churches … all who gave that little extra push,” in helping students achieve. She encouraged students to “keep pushing forward, even if it seems you're not getting anywhere.”
“There's not enough of this going on for young people trying to excel,” Douglas said after the program. “We need more businesses to step up and offer support.” It's not too late to help a student with books and other new school-year expenses, she added. “A little helps a great deal for kids who don't have enough.”
Alexander said the event showed how much difference nonprofits, like CCC, make in people's lives, adding, “I am so impressed with the variety of careers these scholars are pursuing … there are many options, if students are given opportunities and exposure.”
From a pool of 50 applicants, scholars from H.D. Woodson, McKinley Technical and Friendship Collegiate high schools were selected for awards:
- Herbert Benjamin III, Garrett College: English, game design.
- Michelle Brown, Florida A&M: accounting.
- Teri Brown, Virginia Commonwealth University: criminal justice.
- Mohammad Diallo, Syracuse University: fashion design.
- Azania N'Diaye, Harrington College of Design: interior design.
- Tyneka Garrett, Towson University: environmental studies.
- Deric Gassaway, St. Mary's College, Maryland: business management, fashion.
- Abril Gray-Porter, Penn State: journalism.
- Damion Hunt, Florida A&M: electrical engineering.
- Aisha Jenkins, Pacific Lutheran University: social work.
- Lauren Lee, Elizabeth City State College: education.
- KaHill Liddell, University of Pittsburgh: medicine.
- Mykia McNair, Virginia State: mass. comm., public relations.
- Marcus Robinson, Delaware State: criminal justice.
Connecting Students with College, Careers
Seniors living in or attending school in Ward 7 can apply for one-time awards through CCC's “Dollars for Scholars” program. Nearly $50,000 has been awarded in the program's first two years. CCC's primary work, however, is with younger students.
Nationally, 92 percent of middle schoolers say they will go to college; 62 percent do. Only 29 percent of DC public school freshmen finish college within five years, with a mere 5 percent of those living east of the Anacostia earning degrees. Most high school dropouts, according to a 2006 study, make that decision in middle school and drop out in ninth or 10th grade. So, those years are CCC's main focus.
Over the past two years, CCC has engaged 500 students in classroom workshops, interactive college and career field trips and discussions with professionals over lunch. These programs are designed, Ayer explains, “to help students build a basic understanding of the college and career experiences and knowledge of the steps they need to take to make them a reality.”
CCC has partnered with five schools, including KIPP DC: Key Academy, where the awards ceremony was held, and several nonprofits.
“As we work with current and new school partners to plan for the 2009 school year,” Executive Director Deann Ayer says, “we are excited about our newly revised program model. It allows us to facilitate a series of program activities, including college and career workshops, field trips and simulations with whole classes each semester.”
This summer CCC will be working with Higher Achievement, Breakthrough DC, The SEED School, and Friendship Tech Prep, presenting college and career workshops and field trips as part of their summer programs.
During middle and early high school years, “students are making decisions that will impact their future, including whether to stay in school, how to use their high school years, and what they will do in the future,” Ayer says. “We work to increase the number of students who complete college and successfully pursue a career.”
As a complement to its work with younger students, CCC supports college-bound seniors, through individual donations and grants from Scholarship America and USA Funds. These funders launched CCC's predecessor organization in 2005. Although still a tiny organization – staffed by Ayer and program director Brian King alone – the Benning Learning Communities Initiative, serving one neighborhood, has grown into an independent nonprofit serving the entire ward. |
