Graduates, scholarships in East St. Louis hit high marks

The senior class of East St. Louis High School received $4.6 million in scholarships to attend college — a figure that’s more than 13 times the amount students earned the year before.

In addition, 269 out of 279 students in the 2014-15 class plan to attend four-year universities or two-year colleges, trade schools or the military, which is a high mark in recent years, school officials said.

Of the $4.6 million the 2015 graduating class received, more than $4.2 million was in scholarship funding and more than $377,000 in athletic scholarships. In the previous school year, less than $340,000 was earned in all scholarships, East St. Louis School District 189 Superintendent Arthur Culver said.

“I truly believe they were born to win, engineered for success and and sowed with seeds of greatness. It is our responsibility to teach them how to plan to win, prepare to win, and most importantly expect to win. Their zip codes should not determine their destiny,” Culver said.

One scholarship recipient, Jasmine Franklin, 18, is excited about going off to college to pursue a degree in sociology. She looks forward to her college years, particularly now that she has a full ride scholarship to Rust College in Holly Springs, Miss.

“I am excited. I don’t think it would be possible for me to go to college without the scholarship. I would have joined the military. The more loans you take out, the harder it is to pay them back. I did not want my mother to have to pay back any loans. She already has a huge burden,” said Franklin, who plans to pursue a degree in criminology. “Right from the start of our senior year, they made sure we had the things we needed. They also made sure we did the things we needed to do to ensure that we got ... the scholarships that we could,” she said.

Marcia Jones is headed to Jackson State, where she will begin her studies to earn a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Her scholarship made it possible.

“My family does not have a lot of money. I knew if I did well in school, I probably would have an opportunity to go to college. The scholarship helps a lot,” she said.

Jones said she is thankful to Audrey Jackson Luster, a teacher at East St. Louis Senior High School, who helped her secure a scholarship for college.

“It was a really good experience. She loves what she does. Anytime I needed help, she was always there. I am looking forward to being the first one in my immediate family to go to college,” said Jones, who plans to study business administration. I want to be an entrepreneur and a financial adviser to teach people how to invest and manage their money,” she said.

Stephanie Keeler, godmother to a set of twins, Brandy and Brian Brown, both 19, was ecstatic about the scholarships they received.

The Browns will attend Howard University in Washington, D.C. Brian plans to study engineering and Brandy wants to become a lawyer. They also plan to join the ROTC and go to officer training school.

“I am looking forward to meeting new people, trying new experiences, doing community service and looking at things from a different perspective,” Brandy Brown said. “I have always been told the historically black colleges and universities are like family. (We) are the first from my family to go to college.”

Brandy and Brian also received full-ride scholarships from the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Jackson State University.

“I am very proud of their accomplishments,” Keeler said. “Brandy was valedictorian of the class and her brother was No. 4 in the class. Together they had more than $800,000 in scholarship money offered to them (over four years). I am pretty proud of both of them,” Keeler said.

East St. Louis’ class of 2014-15 amassed the most scholarship money of any class in recent years, said Kelli Hawkins, director of communications for District 189.

At the beginning of their senior year, the students were placed into four groups, ranked according to their GPAs and ACT scores. Staff provided each group with support throughout the application process for admission to college, scholarships and financial aid, Hawkins said.

“Faculty and staff supported the students with an expectation to go beyond the requirements to graduate and access post-secondary opportunities, she said.

This story was originally published July 9, 2015 at 9:47 AM with the headline "Graduates, scholarships in East St. Louis hit high marks."