Achievements In Sight For Expanded Horizons
By Chelsea Jupin
Henry Street Settlement’s 13th Annual Youth Scholarship Awards Ceremony celebrated the 74 recipients of the Abrons/Aranow Youth Scholarship, the Sobie Family Scholarship and the Bernard Tannenbaum Memorial Scholarship. The ceremony was held on June 3, 2015, in the festively decorated gym at 301 Henry Street.
The Ceremony also celebrated the college students’ bright futures by giving the scholars inspiration that hit close to home. Both keynote speaker Letitia “Tish” James, New York City Public Advocate, and Judith Belliard, Henry Street’s Director of College Access & Retention, told the students that they could accomplish anything they put their minds to—as they had been in the same position themselves.
“I’m just like you; there’s nothing that separates you from me,” said James. She detailed her own experience growing up in Brooklyn, dependent on food stamps and attending New York City public schools before embarking on a successful career that has so far culminated in being elected the first woman of color to hold a city-wide position.
“Close your ears to all of the noise, step out of the shadows, and realize you have been given the power to change the world. Come back to your community and make a change,” James implored. She concluded her speech with words from the popular (and given by the scholars’ response, beloved!) rapper, “the poet, Drake”, before paraphrasing his lyrics: “You started from the bottom—now you’re here.”
Judith Belliard opened the ceremony on a similar note, telling the scholars of her own experiences learning English with her mother using free religious books they had received. “My work as an educator has manifested itself in helping our young people to attain the impossible, said Belliard. “It’s because I came from the impossible. I thank Henry Street every day for giving me a chance to work hard.”
The scholars proved that they are well on their way to following in these auspicious footsteps. Student speaks Shirley Troche (Fordham University, Class of 2019) and Josephine Fernandez (Fordham University, Class of 2017) thanked Henry Street’s Expanded Horizons college prep program for helping them to overcome obstacles in their way of getting into college. Both Shirley and Josephine, as well as the more than 70 students recognized, benefited from opportunities Expanded Horizons provides such as internships, essay and application assistance and mock interviews with volunteers from major corporations like PIMCO.
Funding for scholarships celebrated at the Annual Youth Scholarship Awards Ceremony is made possible through the generous support of the Abrons/Aranow Family, the Tannenbaum Family, the Sobie Family Scholarship Fund, Andrew Fredman/Fredman Family Foundation, and Dr. and Mr. Lifshitz/D & H Family Fund.
