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Youth Programs

Two college-bound students win Farris Mitchell Scholarships

Two college-bound students win Farris Mitchell Scholarships

Headed for college and full of bright plans, Alisha K. Delissaint and Kevin White are setting their sights high after graduating from two Springfield public schools. And they’re getting a good head start.

Both are the happy recipients of the Springfield Housing Authority’s Farris Mitchell Scholarship, which will help give them a good start as they make their way to success.

The scholarships, worth $1,000 each, are awarded in memory of the late Farris Mitchell, a public housing resident who pushed education to his own 10 children and many of his neighbors at Riverview Apartments and beyond. The SHA doubled the awards this year so that two public housing or rental assistance residents could benefit.

Farris Mitchell died in 1994. His family launched the scholarship the following year, with help from the SHA.

Alisha Delissaint, 18, stands with SHA Youth Engagement Coordinator Jimmie Mitchell.

Alisha Delissaint, 18, stands with SHA Youth Engagement Coordinator Jimmie Mitchell.

Delissaint, 18, graduated from the High School of Commerce, and plans to be an English teacher.

“I’ve gotten close to some of my teachers, and I know how much they can help students. I just want to be one of those really cool teachers,” said Delissaint, who lives at Robinson Gardens Apartments.

White, also 18, earned high honors at Sabis International Charter School, and heads off to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in September.

White’s goal? He’ll major in biology, and head to medical school after earning a bachelor’s degree.

“I’ve wanted to be a physician since I was in the fifth grade,” explained White, a near straight-A student who graduated Sabis in the top 10 percent of his class.

“I love science, and I’m drawn to medicine. I’ve just had it in my head for a long time,” he explained. White lives with his family in the Forest Park neighborhood, and qualified for the scholarship because they receive Section 8 rental housing assistance.

Both said they are grateful for the scholarships, and plan to use the money to help them through their first year of school.

 

Kevin White, 18, received his scholarship from SHA Youth Engagement Coordinator Jimmie Mitchell.

Kevin White, 18, received his scholarship from SHA Youth Engagement Coordinator Jimmie Mitchell.

SHA Board of Commissioners Chairman Raymond Warren said the scholarships are a way for the authority to remember a late resident who made a mark on many, and to help aspiring young people.

“These are small denomination scholarships to deserving people who don’t have the means to pay for post-secondary education,” he said. “We hope these awards keep good students motivated to accomplish their educational goals so they can compete in a very difficult economy.”

SHA Executive Director William H. Abrashkin praised both Delissaint and White, saying they were chosen because “they show exceptional promise and because they have overcome many obstacles to get to the point of pursing their higher education goals.”

The housing authority funds the scholarship in honor of a resident who valued higher education and who inspired so many young people before he died in 1994. All of Farris Mitchell’s children completed high school, and three completed college.

Abrashkin said the SHA Board of Commissioners doubled the number of recipients, along with the total funds awarded, to underscore its commitment to helping residents rise from poverty, and more specifically to give a boost to aspiring young people.

This year’s scholarship winners are standouts, he noted.

“In our line of work, we deal with problems at many levels.  What a pleasure and privilege to see the other side:  the hope and promise that these young people carry.  They are an inspiration for all of us,” Abrashkin said.

The scholarships were given recently by the late Mitchell’s son Jimmie Mitchell, a retired school counselor who now works as youth engagement coordinator at SHA.

The scholarship is so important to the students because it seems like housing residents get left out,” Mitchell said. “We want to help those who have so little be successful. A lot of these kids are overlooked by other scholarships because of where they live, or who they are.”

The scholarship also means a lot personally to him and his family.

“My mom and dad only had a 3rd grade education, and my dad always stressed that we must have a good education to be successful. We decided as a family to start a scholarship in his name because of what he did to make us successful,” Mitchell said.

 

3942 days ago / Youth Programs
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