This spring, New Futures awarded a record number of scholarships to promising youth in the DC area.  See more about each of the nineteen new scholars below, listed under the partnering organization which sponsored them:

CARLOS ROSARIO INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL

Jorge Bazan is currently a student at the University of Maryland seeking financial support to help him fund his remaining two years of school.  In addition to his dual major of International Relations and Romance Languages, he works 15 hours per week at Carlos Rosario and 20 hours per week as a Resident Assistant.  He is also president of his fraternity and an officer in the Latino Student Union.

COMMUNITY CLUB – NY AVE. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Bre’Anna James is graduating from Benjamin Banneker High School with a 3.5 GPA at the age of 16.  The loss of her brother to a brain tumor has driven Bre’Anna to a career in the health care field.  She has gained experience through her volunteer work at Howard University Hospital and will be pursuing the field of Health Administration at Trinity University in DC in the fall.

Oluchi Onwuvuche was born in the US but moved to Nigeria when he was 12.  Returning to the US for 11^th grade, with few high school choices, his parents enrolled him in the Hospitality High School despite his interest in engineering and more technical programs.  Instead of being discouraged, Oluchi made the best of his situation, and worked to improve his English and take advantage of the “people skills” that are taught at the school.  He took as many college prep and technical classes as were available and excelled in math and science.  He looks forward to studying Electrical Engineering at California University of Pennsylvania.

Aniysa Wilson attends Duke Ellington School for the Arts where she is involved with the technical side of theater such as lights, sound, scenery, etc.  She is interested in pursuing technical theater as a career, and is still considering her choice of schools.  Aniysa lives with her father who is suffering with advanced MS and is no longer able to work, so the assistance of a New Futures scholarship will be of great help in allowing Aniysa to pursue her dream of going to college.

FOR LOVE OF CHILDREN

Brenda Balcarcel has a younger sister with learning disabilities, and she has helped her sister with her schoolwork for years, after seeing that the school was not providing the level of support needed.  This has driven Brenda to pursue Elementary Education as a career, so that she can help young children to succeed and ensure that their individual needs are addressed.   Brenda is graduating from Cesar Chavez Public Charter School with a 3.4 GPA and looks forward to attending Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD.

Cecilia Paz’s parents escaped poverty and civil war in El Salvador to come to the US and give their children a better life.  Cecilia is the last of 10 children, and dreams of going to college.  She has seen a few of her siblings succeed and observed others dropping out, getting pregnant, etc.  She is determined to get a good education and succeed in life.  Cecilia enjoys writing and plans to study journalism in college.  She hopes to attend the University of Delaware in the fall.

Brittany Okafor – Brittany graduated from Hyde Leadership Public Charter School last year and is currently participating in City Year, working as a teaching assistant in an inner city school in Philadelphia.  This year has confirmed Brittany’s desire to become one of those incredible teachers working in a challenging urban school district, making a difference in the lives of children.  She plans to study History and Secondary Education.

HOPE AND A HOME

Jessie Watson is graduating from Booker T. Washington Public Charter School.  She has lost many families members to violence and would like to pursue a career in the Criminal Justice field.  She does a lot of volunteer work in the community and has recently held an Urban Alliance internship.  Jessie looks forward to attending a school out of the area and has found a very welcoming environment at Virginia Union University.

LATIN AMERICAN YOUTH CENTER

Elizabeth Calderon’s mother left her at age 9, with little English and not much support at school.   She ended up at a Foster Care Home at LAYC and with their support and the encouragement of a freshman English teacher at Bell Multicultural High School, Elizabeth began to improve her grades.  She is now very interested in her education and would like to study to become a registered nurse.  She looks forward to attending Trinity University in DC where she can be part of a campus community full of activities.

Elmer Diaz is currently an Outreach Worker at LAYC, working with at-risk and runaway youth between the ages of 13 and 24.  He has learned that he works well with at-risk youth and enjoys what he does.  This work has inspired him to pursue a career in social work or counseling.  His plan is to begin with an associate’s degree at Montgomery College and then transfer to a 4-year program at a local school.  He will attend school part time so that he can continue to work in his field and bring in income to support himself and his family.

Katya Hernandez stumbled upon her future career after making a video with the Gandhi Brigade Youth Media organization.  She has continued to create and edit videos, lead and train others, work on the radio and television programs at Montgomery Blair High School, intern at a radio station, and get involved in LAYC productions.   She plans to begin with an associate’s degree at Montgomery College and then transfer to a 4-year school to get her bachelor’s degree in Communications.

Jairo Montiel attended the NextStep program at LAYC and obtained his GED certificate in February.  He is currently interning in the IT department at LAYC and is interested in pursing a career in Information Technology.  He would like to attend the ASM Education Center to obtain A+ certification and then Network+ and MCSA/E certification.  This will give him the credentials he needs to obtain a professional Computer Technical Support position.

Loren Redman’s father was deported to the Dominican Republic when she was 2, and her mother has been in a coma since Loren was 12.  She lives with her grandmother and had a child at age 16.  Loren got her GED certificate with impressive scores and is determined to make a good life for herself and her daughter.  Being at the hospital visiting her mother has caused her to gain interest in the medical field.  She has attended a conference at NIH, interned at Radiance MedSpa and plans to intern at Upper Cardozo Clinic and participate in a National Youth Leadership Forum for youth interested in medical careers.  She is planning to study pre-medicine at Columbia Union College in Takoma Park, MD.

Elizabeth Villatoro lives with her mother, who has always worked long hours to support them and Elizabeth’s grandparents, causing Elizabeth to be on her own much of the time.  She ended up finding attention and support at the community center in her neighborhood.  This had such a great impact on her that she now wants to study Social Work so that she can someday be there for other children in need of support and guidance.  She is currently involved with the AmeriCorps program, assisting at a school in DC during the day, and just began attending classes at NOVA at night.  She plans to obtain her associate degree at NOVA and then transfer to George Mason University to study Social Work.

LIBERTY’S PROMISE

Daniel Centeno is a determined young man who aspires to be a chef.  In addition to attending high school, he maintains a full time job in order to help with family finances and shops, cooks and cares for himself and his sister while his mother works long hours.  He recently won 3^rd place in the regional Top Teen Chef Competition, beating out over 700 applicants.  He has a promising future, but culinary school is very expensive, and financial aid does not cover enough of the cost.  However, with the help of a New Futures scholarship, Daniel will be able to pursue his dream.

Mahamat Hassane left his family in Chad to come to the US for an education and a better life.  He worked with his father repairing cars when he was young and is interested in obtaining auto mechanic training and certification to obtain a good job.  He is living with his uncle, and in addition to attending high school, he is working almost full time in order to be able to support himself.  Mahamat has just been accepted at the Excel Institute which provides free training.  His New Futures scholarship will provide financial support for his required tools, transportation, and certification exams.

SEE FOREVER / MAYA ANGELOU PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL

Andrew Warren found himself in trouble with the law and ended up incarcerated at Oak Hill Youth Center.  He was very angry about the bad choices he made and how it was going to affect his future.  But one day he decided to turn his life around.  He crash-studied for 2 weeks and took and passed the GED exam.  Then he wrote an apology letter to his family for all of the heartache he caused.  He wants to get away from his neighborhood and its negative influences and plans to attend Delaware State University in the fall.  Andrew has been awarded the Keith Hines Memorial Scholarship, because he is trying very hard to turn his life around just as Keith did.

YEAR UP

Hamlet Evertsz is currently using his computer skills as an intern at BET Networks, and has also volunteered as a computer technician at the American Red Cross.  He has obtained a number of certifications while participating at Year Up and would like to obtain additional certifications to make himself more marketable when his internship ends in July.  He would like to get a good job so that he can support himself and his mother, and would someday like to pursue college.  He plans to use his New Futures scholarship to obtain Linux training and Cisco Network training.

Janette Quintanilla is currently interning at Latham & Watkins LLP.  She has learned a lot and is interested in expanding her IT skills by taking A+ and Network+ certification classes.  She enjoys this technical work and feels this will give her the chance to establish a sound career.   Her New Futures scholarship will help her to pursue the additional certifications needed to obtain a professional computer support position.