For Immediate Release
Portland’s iUrban Teen Announces iSucceed Scholarship Recipients for 2018
May 19 Ceremony to Celebrate Three Local Teens Pursuing Education and Careers in STEM+Arts
PORTLAND, OR. – May 16, 2018 — iUrban Teen, a nationally recognized and multi-state program delivering career-focused education to underrepresented teens, has selected three recipients of its iSucceed Scholarship program (https://iurbanteen.org/aboutus/scholarship/). This year’s $2,000 scholarship recipients are Alton Culver of Mountain View High School (Camas, WA), Zion Ward of City Christian High School (Portland, OR), and Keyontay Wallace of Northland College (Ashland, WI). A formal scholarship award ceremony will take place at Legacy Emanuel’s Lorenzen Center, 2801 N Gantenbein Ave, Portland, Oregon.
This year’s scholarship is dedicated to the life of Jonathan James Walker, a former iUrban Teen student and Jesuit High School Graduate who passed away in a boating accident in August 2017. The scholarship awards will be presented by his mother Freda Walker. The ceremony is also a celebration for seven other long-term iUrban Teens who will be graduating from Portland area high schools.
Alton Culver of Camas, Washington will attend the University of Washington. He intends to study Computer Science. Alton has demonstrated outstanding academics, including numerous challenging AP courses, success in athletics, and is a recognized mentor for others. Alton is a recognized leader within iUrban Teen’s Portland council working along with a team of individuals to develop an app for the city of Portland’s Parks and Recreation Department.
Zion Ward of Portland, Oregon will attend Warner Pacific University. He intends to study psychology. Zion is a charter member if iUrban teen, participating in numerous programs including as a mentor for incoming students. In addition to iUrban Teen Zion has generously given of his time as a volunteer for the Blazers Boys and Girls Club, Peer Counseling, HIV and Aids prevention, feeding the homeless, volunteering at an Alzheimer dementia center, and other programs at City Bible Church.
Keyontay Wallace of Portland, Oregon will attend Portland Community College. Keyontay will be completing coursework preparing him for an eventual career in education. Keyontay is a charter member of iUrban Teen. While in iUrban Teen Keyontay was a volunteer at the Oregon Zoo and served as a Peer Mentor at Benson Polytechnic High School.
The scholarship is open to any current or past participants in iUrban Teen’s programs who are residents of the Portland metro area. Applicants must have been accepted to, or enrolled in, an accredited two or four-year degree or technical/career program. And largely sponsored by HP Vancouver.
“Our iSucceed scholarships, and scholarships of this type, help make higher education possible for young people and further iUrban Teen’s mission to expose and inspire underrepresented youth to earn a college education and become tomorrow’s business and technology leaders,” said Deena Pierott (https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2013/08/12/crea…), founder and chief innovator of iUrban Teen. Ms. Pierott was honored as a Champion of Change by President Barack Obama in 2013 for her work with young learners from communities that are historically underserved or underrepresented in STEM fields.
Patricia Raicht, Senior Vice President, National Director of JLL, iUrban Teen Portland Executive Council Chair said “We are so proud of all our iUrban Teen graduates and are so pleased to be able to provide Zion, Alton and Keyontay these scholarships and wish them much success in their endeavors.”
For more information on iUrban Teen or the iSucceed Scholarship Program and to donate please visit our website at www.iurbanteen.org, contact: Deena Pierott: 360.747.7068
About iUrban Teen – iUrban Teen is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) nationally recognized program dedicated to bringing career-focused education to underrepresented teens ages 13 to 18. Youth receive hands-on exposure to a variety of careers and civic engagement that step them outside of their current boundaries. Our target demographics are African American, Latino and Native American males; however, the program is inclusive of all youth. We have almost equal parity of girls that participate in our programs and also youth with special needs. iUrban Teen programs are now in Washington, Oregon, California, Texas and future locations including Hartford, CT. For more information, visit https://iurbanteen.org/ or contact Deena Pierott at 360.747.7068.
