Milwaukee Teens Earn $5M-Plus In Scholarships At 'Empower Me' Tour

From Milwaukee Public Schools:

Posted Sunday, January 26, 2020

The results are in! Milwaukee high school seniors earned 142 scholarships valued at $5,294,800 during the Fall 2019 Empower Me Tour (EMT), hosted by the United Negro College Fund (UNCF). More than 1,200 Milwaukee high school seniors and parents filled the Wisconsin Center in September to take part in the event. EMT is a free, traveling college-and-career-readiness roadshow that provides a platform for high school students to earn on-site scholarships and admission to the nation’s top historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The EMT also resulted in 390 students receiving acceptance letters to participating universities.

Thanks to UNCF, MPS alum and Riverside University High School graduate Derell Garth graduated from Clark Atlanta University (CAU) in 2018. CAU was Garth’s dream school, but paying for it was a big challenge. After visiting his financial aid office, he applied for and won the First Generation Coca Cola Scholarship and the Toyota Scholarship, which covered the cost of all four years in college. “The scholarships allowed me to turn my dreams into reality by helping me pay for school and allowing me to become the first ever in my family to graduate from college,” he said. Since graduating, Garth has returned home to Milwaukee and works for Northwestern Mutual.

UNCF is the largest scholarship provider to students of color, awarding $100 million annually in scholarships to more than 10,000 students across the country. Through partnerships with Milwaukee Public Schools; parents; national sponsors Wells Fargo, Target, P&G, Disney, and FedEx; and a host of strong local sponsors, EMT offers access to information and recruiters from HBCUs, college prep workshops, dynamic presenters, and award-winning education experts. Students took advantage of on-the-spot opportunities to apply for college admission, financial aid, and scholarships including the EMT Merit Scholarship.

For more information, visit www.EmpowerMeTour.org.

This press release was produced by Milwaukee Public Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.