Stephanie Young, dean of students at KIPP DC College Preparatory School, made an offer to Llewellyn “Xavier” Richie on Monday afternoon—they could get breakfast together the next morning if he would let her drive him to school. Ms. Young could not let the KIPP DC senior be late on what she knew would be one of the most important days of his high school career.
Mr. Richie, described as “humble” by his principal (and also not one to question the promise of a bacon and egg sandwich), did not expect anything out of the ordinary to happen at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.
It was not until a prize patrol team interrupted his college prep class, and his peers erupted in resounding cheers, that he realized he was the recipient of a Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Scholarship to the George Washington University. The prestigious, four-year award covers tuition, room, board, books and university fees for exceptional students in the District of Columbia.
As George Washington President Steven Knapp, accompanied by Colonials mascot George and Director of Admissions Karen Felton, announced his name, Mr. Richie buried his face in his hands, trying to hide the tears welling up in his eyes. D.C. Councilwoman Yvette Alexander congratulated Mr. Richie in front of the classroom, and fellow senior Quentin Hugee embraced him in the hallway. “You did it, bro. I’m proud of you,” Mr. Hugee told his friend. For Mr. Richie, who is president of his school’s National Honor Society, the surprise left him nearly speechless.
“This has relieved the financial burden of going to college.” Mr. Richie said. “I’m looking forward to a new beginning.”
The good news rolled on for the rest of Tuesday, as GW administrators and staff traveled to six local high schools, surprising eight D.C. students with full-ride scholarships. It is an annual tradition that Dr. Knapp called his “favorite day of the year.”
Instituted by former University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg in 1989, and celebrating its 25th anniversary, the SJT scholarship program has supported 149 local students. GW’s undergraduate admissions team selects nominated students based on GPA, SAT scores, course study, teacher recommendations, leadership qualities and extracurricular activities.
While the SJT scholars were overwhelmingly thankful on Tuesday, Dr. Knapp emphasized that the students are as great of a benefit to GW as the university is to them.
“We get to bring talented students who really strengthen our ties to this great capital city, which we are so very much a part of,” Dr. Knapp said. Moreover, the scholarships serve as a symbol of possibility to the rest of the high achievers in the District. “We want to send the message that college is out there; it’s in their future,” he said.
The only people who may have been smiling wider than the SJT scholars on Tuesday, were the parents, teachers and mentors who have helped the high school students throughout their academic journey.
When Dr. Knapp announced the name “Malachi Byrd” at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School for Public Policy, a flood of more than 20 of Mr. Byrd’s family members, friends and teachers ran into his classroom, snapping pictures of their new local celebrity and chanting his name. Making his way through the packed crowd of supporters, Mr. Byrd found the one person he wanted to thank the most—his mother, Alisha Byrd.
“It’s more than a dream come true for us to know that Malachi has been focused on his education for so long, and particularly going to college, and he now has the opportunity to go to a world-class university without the burden of debt,” said Ms. Byrd before turning to her son for a high-five.
Ms. Byrd was notified of her son’s award last week, but she needed to keep her lips sealed. On Tuesday, she sighed with relief as she was finally able to celebrate with her son. She was quick to add that she is happy he’ll be attending a college close to home, just minutes away from his support system.
“Mom looks out for me. But she’d never fail to remind me, ‘You know you can be in the city, right? You know GW is a train ride away, right?’ Momma’s been there,” Mr. Byrd said with a smile. “And I appreciate her being here right now.” At GW, Mr. Byrd hopes to study economics and sociology. A self-proclaimed humanitarian, his goal is to “eliminate the inequities in urban environments.”
Four miles away, at Friendship Collegiate Academy, Lenard and LaShawn Green were waiting anxiously in a conference room, just a few doors away from their daughter and the next SJT scholarship award recipient, China Green. Mr. Lenard said his daughter has been talking about attending college since she was in the fifth grade.
“China had told my wife, back then, not to worry about getting money for her to go to school, because she was going to get a scholarship. And she did it,” he said with a grin. “She really deserved to get into a top-tier university, because she works real hard.”
Ms. Green burst into tears when she saw George and Dr. Knapp walk through her classroom door, knowing that she was an SJT winner.
Ms. Green already has had a taste of college life, when she studied Mandarin and philosophy at Duke University last summer. She said she plans to study political science at GW, and she is excited to be part of the Colonial community.
In addition to Mr. Richie, Mr. Byrd and Ms. Green, five other D.C. students, with a diverse range of interests and accomplishments, were surprised with scholarships on Tuesday. The other winners include:
- Tai’Lon Jackson of Ballou High School, a trombone player in Ballou’s Majestic Knights Marching Band, has been valedictorian since 10th grade and is the senior class president.
- Avery Coffey of Benjamin Banneker Academic High School built a robot at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory during an internship and is learning calculus through independent study with a Howard University mentor.
- Reniya Dinkins of Benjamin Banneker Academic High School is chair of the D.C. Youth Advisory Council that provides feedback to the mayor’s office on issues affecting youth in D.C.
- Meron Hagos of Benjamin Banneker Academic High School is a youth ambassador at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and at Children’s National Medical Center.
- Minh-Hong Nguyen of Capital City Public Charter School will be the first in her family to graduate from high school and attend college. She also was an intern in a GW chemistry lab.
After handing out the final three SJT scholarships of the day, Ms. Felton sank into a seat in the auditorium of Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, exhausted, yet still smiling.
“I always say, this is the day I love my job most—seeing what the scholarship means to the families and the students. The opportunity to join a community like GW is just life changing,” she said. “It always reminds me why I started doing this work. And it keeps me going.”