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SPECIAL PROGRAMS/ACTIVITIES
STUDENTS GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL WITH COLLEGE TUITION IN THE BANK
 At the White House Merrill Lynch and Greater Washington Urban League ScholarshipBuilder students were invited to a special briefing at The White House on June 23 in celebration of the program.
Pictured,(L-R) Greater Washington Urban League President Maudine R. Cooper, ScholarshipBuilder student Ravon Waldron, Merrill Lynch Foundation President Paul Critchlow, Rainbow Fund President Dr. Elizabeth Abramowitz, and GWUL Board Member Martie Kendrick-Kettmer, partner, Patton Boggs LLP (law firm). At the microphone is GWUL Education Director Audrey Epperson.
In Fall 1988, Merrill Lynch and the Greater Washington Urban League made a promise to 25 first-grade students who attended the District of Columbia's Hendley Elementary School in Southeast Washington: If they completed their education, they would receive full, all-expenses-paid scholarships to any college or university. Later that same school year, in January 1989, The Rainbow Fund, a local foundation, made a similar commitment to 10 other first graders at Hendley. Now the students in the program who graduated from high school this spring are on their way to college with their "tuition in the bank" - actually in an investment account. Some will be the first member of their immediate family to attend college.
Members of the ScholarshipBuilder/Young Scholars "Class of 2000" will be soon packing their bags and heading to colleges and universities across the nation that include Morehouse in Atlanta, Bennett University in Greensboro, NC, Howard University, Hampton University in Virginia, and Johnson and Wales in Rhode Island.
On June 23, the students were invited to The White House where they participated in a briefing with senior executive staff including Bob Nash, assistant to the President and director, Office of Presidential Personnel; Jena Roscoe, associate director for public liaison; Zina Pierre, special assistant to the President for intergovernmental affairs; Bethany Little, associate director for the Domestic Policy Council; Arthurine Walker, associate director of constituent outreach, Corporation for National Service; and Adrian Miller, deputy director of the President's Initiative for One America. Also participating were Paul Critchlow, president of the Merrill Lynch Foundation; Elizabeth Abramowitz, president of The Rainbow Fund; and Maudine R. Cooper, president and CEO of the Greater Washington Urban League.
The 16 Merrill Lynch ScholarshipBuilder students who are attending college in the fall will receive full college-associated tuition, textbooks and academic fees deemed mandatory by the institution, also room and board. The scholarship is available for four consecutive years and may include transfer from a two-year to a four-year institution, leading to a bachelor's degree, or a certified five-year program leading to a bachelor's degree. If a student does not attend college, he or she will receive a $2,000 lump sum payment upon entering the military or becoming fully employed.
Under the Rainbow Fund, its seven Young Scholars who have graduated this year will receive a maximum of $24,000 each. The scholarship is available for up to four academic years at $6,000 per year.
The 16 Merrill Lynch students are Ebony Allen, Jerome Glasco, Juan Hill, Kelli Jenkins, Diana Johnson, Ria King, Nikkia Martin, Jorge Membreno, Dawn Moore, Joseph Paire, Lakeia Rawls, Diana Smith, Ravon Waldron, Joseph White, Hilary Whitfield, II and Kishanna Wimbush.
Two other students, Shanita Brown and April Hill, graduated a year head of their class. Shanita has completed her first year at Norfolk State University and has transferred to American University. April has completed a nursing assistant program and is considering attending college this fall.
The seven Rainbow Fund students are Sharee Battles, Edward C. Brown Jr., Skyller Browne, Juanita DeVaughn, Shalita Knight, Lakeda Martin, and LaShawn Wiggins.
Students graduated from an array of high schools in the District, Prince George's and Montgomery Counties. Those who have not graduated remain in the program.
Over the past 12 years, the GWUL has worked with both the students and their parents to provide a support network. The students received mentoring and tutoring, went on field trips and participated in SAT prep workshops, pre-college programs, and cultural enrichment programs. For the parents, the League has provided information and training related to the post-secondary education process, career counseling, skills training and job placement assistance.
The Merrill Lynch ScholarshipBuilder Program is a partnership with the National Urban League and operates in nine other cities with local Urban League affiliates.
For more information about GWUL scholarship programs, call the Education Division at (202) 265-8200 or visit our web sites at www.gwulparentcenter.org or www.gwul.org.
EIGHT STUDENTS AND THREE PARENTS HONORED FOR OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The Greater Washington Urban League honored eight students and three parents for their outstanding accomplishments in education at GWUL's 5th Annual Parent Expo held on September 30 at the D.C. Armory. Parents were honored for continued commitment in education. Youth were recognized for their accomplishments in one of three areas: outstanding academic performance, outstanding personal achievement, and community service.
Youth honored in the area of Outstanding Academic Performance were: Karen Chamberlain, Phelps Career Senior High School; Shakil Ferousi, Wilson Senior High School; Jose Juarez, Eliot Junior High School; and Jose Rosales, Bell Multicultural High School. In the area of Community Service the recipients were Milton Boyd, School Without Walls; Kelvin Wright, R.H. Terrell Junior High School; and Melvin A. Moore, Benjamin Banneker Academic High School. Outstanding Personal Achievement was presented to Brenda Bonilla, Jefferson Junior High School.
Parent recipients were: Brenda Artis, Gwen Griffin and Janet Myers. Artis is an active member of Parents United, has served as president and vice president of Miner Elementary School's PTA, and serves as their Parental Involvement and Community Liaison. Griffin a parent trainer, parent affairs volunteer, and vice president of Leadership Training for DC Congress of PTA's, and occupies a seat on both Langdon and Thurgood Marshall Elementary Schools' Executive Boards of PTA. Myers is currently DCPTA'S vice president for Councils, and Area 2B president (overseeing approximately 20 local schools). Most recently she organized the first Stop the Violence Walk-a-thon, on September 16, 2000.
TICKETS, TICKETS, TICKETS!!!
The League has developed an on-going relationship with Feld Entertainment to distribute discounted coupons for select activities in the city. During 1998/99, the League distributed 50,000 coupons (English and Spanish) for performances of the Ringling Brothers, Barnum and Bailey Circus and the Beauty and the Beast Ice Show. The League also was able to provide parents and their children with tickets to the Wizards' basketball games and local theater productions.
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-- Parent Education And Training
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Parent Center
Urban Environmental WALL
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