Education

Students get scholarships, acceptance letters at Black College Expo

WAVE NEWSPAPERS — More than 15,000 high school students met with representatives from more than 200 colleges and universities.

Published

7 years ago

February 12, 2019

Oakland Post

By Shirley Hawkins

LOS ANGELES — Students from Riverside, San Diego and Orange County made their way to the Los Angeles Convention Center Feb. 2 for the 20th annual Black College Expo.

More than 15,000 high school students met with representatives from more than 200 colleges and universities including Ivy League schools and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) from across the country.

“The Expo started as a dream and a passion of mine,” said Theresa Price, founder of the expo who said that years ago, she was not aware that HCBUs even existed.

“Once I discovered historically black colleges and universities, I wanted to spread the history and legacy of these great schools,” she said. “It is great to see the students so happy and excited to attend the expo and I wanted students from all over the world to know about it.”

Some schools were able to check high school transcripts of students at the expo and hand out acceptance letters on the spot.

During a seminar titled “How to Get Money for College,” Gloria Ponce Rodriguez of the National College Resources Foundation said that there are billions of dollars available for high school students who want to attend colleges and universities, particularly if they come from impoverished backgrounds.

“There are all kinds of resources and money out there, especially for the African-American male,” she said while distributing a brochure filled with information about how to receive money for college.

“There’s state, federal, institutional and private scholarships available,” she added.

“If you’re currently enrolled in ROTC at your school, ROTC money is available. If you want to become a teacher, you can get a teaching grant as long as your grade point average is 3.2.”

“If your family makes less than $65,000 a year, you can go to Harvard, Princeton or Yale. There are also the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant and the Pell grant, which offers students $6,095 in free money as well as schools that also offer work-study programs,” Rodriguez said.

“If a student really wants to go to college, the opportunities are definitely there,” Rodriguez said. “There are at least 80 colleges across the country that will offer you a pathway to acquiring an education, particularly if you come from a disadvantaged background.”

Rodriguez shared her own story, revealing that she only had a 1.1 grade average when she dropped out of high school to care for her six siblings.

“But I knew I was a smart cookie,” she said. “I finally went back to school and earned my GED.”

Rodriguez applied for and was accepted at Norfolk State College in Norfolk, Virginia. “After improving my grade point average, I received a full fellowship and majored in special education. I pursued my degree while I raised my special needs child,” said Rodriguez, who eventually became the admissions director at Norfolk.

“Don’t ever give up,” she told the students.

During the day-long event, a number of speakers who had attended HBCUs said that they formed close bonds with their alma maters that will last forever.

“I visited the University of Southern California and no one was going the extra mile to interact with Jawanza Harris,” said one speaker. “But when I went to Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia they said, ‘You’re great. We see something in you.’ The difference is your people surround you and affirm you,” he said.

“At HBCUs, they teach you about the rich legacy of African Americans that are not in the history books,” Harris added. “My HBCU experience taught me that there are great black people all around us.”

Amer Walton, who attended Bowie State College in Prince Georges County, Maryland, agreed.

“Most of your lawyers, doctors and judges graduated from HBCUs,” Walton said. “HBCUs help you to maximize your potential.”

Dozens of students flocked to a booth to pick up literature from Black College Tours, which was founded 30 years ago by Gregory and Yasmin Delahoussaye. The tour arranges for high school students to visit different colleges across the country each summer.

“I realized that young people would have a better chance to go to college if they knew that HBCUs existed,” said Gregory Delahoussaye, who estimated that nearly 5,000 students have taken the tour.

Seventeen-year-old Da’Shawn Lennan eagerly handed out literature detailing information about Miles College, an HBCU in Fairfield, Alabama.

“When I was still attending Pete Knight High School in Palmdale, I visited Miles College and they had the major I wanted, which was business,” said Lennan, who applied to Miles and was accepted at the school.

“I am so glad to see young people attending this expo,” said Lennan as he surveyed the crowd. “This is a great opportunity for seniors and juniors from high school to get acquainted with different schools from across the country.”

Eighteen-year-old Prosper Egbador, a student at Aquinas High School in San Bernardino who emigrated from Nigeria at 16, proudly walked away with an acceptance letter from Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas.

“It feels great to be accepted — this is a dream come true. Not a lot of people get this opportunity, but God helped me, and here I am — I’m going to college,” he said, eagerly clutching his acceptance letter.

Brandon Lee said that after checking his high school transcripts, admission personnel at Tuskeegee University in Tuskeegee, Alabama, also offered him an acceptance letter.

“I want to major in mechanical engineering,” said Lee, who traveled from San Gorgonio Hugh School in San Bernardino, to attend the expo. “I’m really looking forward to the atmosphere, culture and climate at Tuskeegee.”

Towards the end of the Expo, 25 high school students were led to the stage and presented with scholarships ranging from $250 to $2,500. They were greeted with loud applause from the audience.

“In order to win a scholarship, the students had to write an essay about why they wanted to go to college,” Price said.

Nicole Tinson, a speaker at the “Boom Careers” workshop, told the students, “Don’t be discouraged. You can have a 2.0 [grade point average] but you can recreate your grade point average. There’s lots of opportunities, internships, jobs and resources out there. You just have to make a plan and apply yourself.”

This article originally appeared in the Wave Newspapers.

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The program marks the first time the state has opened the platform to all Californians. State officials said the effort is designed to give residents a direct role in discussions about how AI should be regulated and used as the technology rapidly expands across industries.

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iStock

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced May 7 that California is expanding its Engaged California digital democracy initiative statewide, inviting residents to help shape future state policies on artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on jobs and the economy.

“We’ve got to be clear-eyed about this moment: AI is moving fast, bringing enormous opportunity, but also real risks,” Newsom said in a statement. “Californians deserve a seat at the table as we shape what’s to come.”

The initiative will roll out in two phases. Beginning immediately, Californians can sign up online to share how AI is affecting their work and communities and provide ideas for possible government action. Later this summer, a smaller group reflecting the state’s workforce demographics will participate in live discussions focused on developing policy recommendations.

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Engaged California is modeled after digital democracy programs used in Taiwan and is intended to encourage structured public discussion rather than social media-style debate. Officials described the effort as a form of “deliberative democracy” aimed at helping residents engage directly in state decision-making.

“The more Californians are engaged in the democratic process, the better able we’ll be to confront the challenges we face together,” said Nick Maduros, California Secretary of Government Operations, in a statement.

The statewide launch builds on two earlier pilot programs. One pilot gathered public input following the Los Angeles firestorms to help guide recovery efforts, while another collected ideas from state employees about improving government operations.

California has positioned itself as a national leader in AI policy and development. Since 2023, the Newsom administration has introduced initiatives focused on responsible AI use in government, cybersecurity protections, workforce training and regulations targeting risks such as deepfakes and AI-generated robocalls.

The state has also partnered with companies in Silicon Valley — including NVIDIA, Google, Adobe, IBM and Microsoft — to expand AI education and workforce training programs across California schools and universities.

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The kind of workday your Grandpa had is probably over, and you can’t count on toiling at the same place for 40 years for a pension and a gold watch. You already know that, and these books will help you decide your next step. You’ll learn what kind of worker you are, what’s stopping you from finding a job or occupation you’ll love, how to determine the purpose you envision for your future, and how to get where you need to be.

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Oakland Post

Book covers. Photo courtesy of Terri Schlichenmeyer.

By Terri Schlichenmeyer

Authors: Various, Copyright: c.2026, Publishers: Various, SRP: $21.00 – $29.00, Page Counts: Various

The videos and news reports were inspiring.

In them, a hesitant prospective college student became a happy, new college-bound student with the click of a key. They were accepted into the college of their dreams – so how can you get the same feeling next spring, when you’re the one with the highest of hopes?

You can start by reading these great books and sharing them with your family…

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Inside this book, you’ll find stats and stories that may already sound familiar, tales of not enough money, not enough support, not enough arms or sleep or resources. If you’re looking for a book of advice, this isn’t it, though. It’s more of a resource that you’ll want to take to your guidance counselor or any local politician.

Alright, but what if you’ve decided that college can wait? Is that okay? Look for “The Mission Generation: Reclaim Your Purpose, Rewrite Success, Rebuild Our Future” by Arun Gupta and Thomas J. Fewer (Wiley, $29.00) because – guess what? – you have many options for your future.

The kind of workday your Grandpa had is probably over, and you can’t count on toiling at the same place for 40 years for a pension and a gold watch. You already know that, and this book will help you decide your next step. You’ll learn what kind of worker you are, what’s stopping you from finding a job or occupation you’ll love, how to determine the purpose you envision for your future, and how to get where you need to be. This book isn’t just for high schoolers, but for anyone ages 16 and beyond who’s feeling restless, ready for change, or who’s thinking about some kind of purposeful retirement.

And if these aren’t the college-based or not-college-bound books you need, then be sure to ask your favorite bookseller or librarian for help on ideas, how-to’s, test prep books, or study guides. They’ll have books for you, and maybe a little inspiration, too.

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Against All Odds: Mary Jackson’s Journey to NASA Engineer

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Mary Jackson. Public domain.

By Tamara Shiloh

When we talk about breaking barriers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the name Mary Jackson deserves a place at the top of the list.

Jackson was born in 1921 in Hampton, Virginia, a place that would later become central to her groundbreaking work. From an early age, she showed a strong aptitude for math and science—subjects that, at the time, were not widely encouraged for African American women. But Jackson was not one to be limited by expectations. She earned degrees in mathematics and physical science from Hampton Institute (now Hampton University), setting the foundation for a career that would change history.

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In 1958, Jackson became NASA’s first African American female engineer.

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Jackson’s story gained wider recognition through the book and film Hidden Figures, which highlighted the contributions of African American women at NASA. But long before the spotlight found her, Jackson was doing the work—quietly, persistently, and brilliantly.

Jackson retired from Langley in 1985. Among her many honors were an Apollo Group Achievement Award and being named Langley’s Volunteer of the Year in 1976. She served as the chair of one of the center’s annual United Way campaigns and a member of the National Technical Association (the oldest African American technical organization in the United States).

She and her husband Levi had an open-door policy for young Langley recruits trying to gain their footing in a new town and a new career. A 1976 Langley Researcher profile might have done the best job capturing Mary’s spirit and character, calling her a “gentlelady, wife and mother, humanitarian and scientist.”

For Jackson, science and service went hand in hand.

She died on Feb. 11, 2005, at age 83, at a convalescent home in Hampton, Virginia.