Koryne will be attending the LSU Honors College in the fall.

We are thrilled and proud to announce that all of our Senior Fellows have been admitted to a four-year institution, including, but not limited to, M.I.T, Georgia Tech, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Alabama, Auburn, LSU Honors College, Southern University, and Agnes Scott College. BRYC Fellows have so far been accepted to over twenty-five schools, and collectively have been offered over $750,000 in scholarships. Three of our sixteen Senior Fellows (18.75%) are full scholarship recipients—a figure 62.5 times the national average (.3%)—including two Gates-Millennium Scholars.

Mo is the third Fellow in BRYC’s 4-year history to win the First Wave Scholarship, a full ride for hip hop and urban arts. This fall she will attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

These extraordinary figures are not only the result of our Fellows’ hard work and diligence, but also the unwavering support of our College Mentors, without whose dedication our Senior program could not function. From helping Fellows identify best-fit schools to revising essays to commiserating about senioritis, our College Mentors have been there every step of the way.

Our seniors’ successes have not only inspired the staff, but more importantly, our underclassmen. Sara, a sophomore at Baton Rouge High, says, “Seeing the Seniors getting into college and winning all those scholarships makes me feel like I can do the same thing. They have set the bar high and that will push me when it’s my time.” Jaala, a junior at Capitol High, adds, “One of the main reasons I joined BRYC is because I knew I would need a lot of help when it came time to apply to college. Seeing the seniors this year proves I made the right decision.”

Dominique

For the first time in the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition’s (BRYC) four-year history, two of its Senior Fellows, Aaliyah and Dominique, are recipients of the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship (GMS) award. Chosen from an applicant pool of over 30,000 based on their academic and personal qualifications, they are two of 1,000 selected nationwide. This fall Aaliyah and Dominique will matriculate to the University of Alabama and Auburn University, respectively, and will do so free of charge.

Created through a $1 billion grant by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the GMS scholarship covers all undergraduate and graduate expenses. The program also provides scholars with ongoing leadership training and academic support to ensure success in the classroom and beyond. Any African-American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, or Hispanic American high school senior with at least a 3.3 GPA and who qualifies for the Pell Grant is eligible to apply for this scholarship.

Aaliyah

Aaliyah and Dominique currently attend Capitol High School and Scotlandville Magnet High School, respectively. Both Fellows are at the top of their classes. Aaliyah is her school’s valedictorian and is a member of the girls’ basketball team. At her principal’s request, Aaliyah has been tutoring peers in math and English, Monday through Thursday, since the beginning of the school year. Dominique maintains a 4.3 GPA and has been a standout player on the girls’ basketball team for her entire high school career. Both girls have asserted themselves as leaders in the BRYC community and as role models for the underclassmen.

In 2011, BRYC congratulated its first Gates Millennium Scholar, BRYC alumnus John Queen, who is now a sophomore at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Queen is majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. Of the GMS scholarship, John states, “It really has turned my life around. I’m able to attend a school that I never thought I would be able to afford. And it also has opened up opportunities for my travel abroad. I have been to more than ten different countries through Morehouse College, and with funding from the Gates Millennium Scholarship.”

During his recent spring break, Queen returned home to Baton Rouge and met with Aaliyah and Dominique to advise them on the final leg of their GMS applications. He says, “If I hadn’t received guidance and support, I never would have reached the position where I am currently. So I just want to go back and instill as much information into my younger peers, so that they know the opportunities that are available.”

BRYC could not be prouder of Aaliyah and Dominique for the hard work and dedication that led to this tremendous opportunity, but we know this is just the beginning for them! For further information, please contact Executive Director Lucas Spielfogel (lucas@thebryc.org)

Since BRYC’s founding, our Fellows have engaged directly in key educational issues facing our city and state. Inspired by the Boo Grigsby’s fervent commitment to education equity, the Boo Grigsby-BRYC Educational Scholarship application requires Senior Fellows to submit school improvement plans: to determine the biggest problems facing their respective schools, outline a vision for the school makeover of their dreams, and develop strategies to execute such a transformation. The exact assignment is duplicated below.

From May 3-8, a selection committee comprised of Boo Grigsby Foundation staff, BRYC Alumni, and community leaders will review and evaluate all applications. And on the night of May 11, during our graduation ceremony, the top two submissions, with the accompanying $10,000 and $5,000 awards, will be announced to the entire BRYC community! We are excited and grateful for this incredible opportunity, and look forward to continuing to work with the Boo Grigsby Foundation not only to fight for educational equity, but to enlist the leadership of young people in he process.

In mid-February, BRYC was one of 3,000 charitable organizations nationwide to submit a project proposal to the State Farm Youth Advisory Board, a group of thirty 17-20-year-olds charged with allocating $5 million to address important issues in communities across the United States and Canada. Of the 3,000 causes submitted, “Training the Future” was among the 200 finalists chosen to compete in the final round: Facebook voting. From April 4 and April 22, organizations from California, New York and everywhere in between fought to be among the top 40 vote-getters, and the recipients of $25,000 that would fund their project. With each Facebook user able to vote ten times a day, this was a marathon.

With the help of over 500 unwavering BRYC supporters, Training the Future finished in 21st place as the only Louisiana initiative on the leaderboard. The best part about this victory was not the $25,000 as I might have imagined, but the passion and collective effort of our voting base. Our dedicated teammates not only cast daily votes religiously for nineteen days, but encouraged others to do the same. You know who you are, and we are so grateful for your help. We look forward to keeping all our stakeholders informed of this project’s growth, and the resultant progress of our Fellows. For further information please email lucas@thebryc.org.

BRYC alum Gary Slack leads tour of Dillard University, where he is a junior.

At 7:00AM on February 16, twenty-five Fellows and a handful of bleary-eyed staff and volunteers loaded onto a school bus and embarked upon our annual New Orleans College Tour. Many bananas and granola bars later, we arrived in the Big Easy and began our first tour at the University of New Orleans (UNO). Throughout the course of the day, our twenty-five Sophomore, Junior and Senior Fellows would take tours of UNO, Dillard, Tulane, Loyola, and Xavier, and be exposed to a diverse spread of campus experiences. Not only was the trip fun, action-packed, and complete with a Tulane buffet lunch, but it also gave Fellows the chance to interface with a variety of students from these schools, and inquire about everything from financial aid to intermural sports to study abroad programs.

But the best part of the trip was the involvement of BRYC alumni. Gary Slack gave us a tour of Dillard University, where he is in the home stretch of his junior year. Reginald Miller showed us the ins and outs of Loyola University, where he is thriving as a sophomore. Finally, Myeisha Carter, junior at Howard University, was home on spring break and served as our lead chaperone. These impressive alumni serve as role models for our Fellows, and we could not be more grateful for their continued engagement in BRYC’s work.

Antone, Junior: “My favorite part of the NOLA Tour was visiting Tulane. Our tour guide was hilarious, and he added a good personal touch to the tour.”

Aida, Senior: “My favorite part was getting a better feel for the campuses I was considering going to. I had been accepted to UNO, Loyola and Xavier, but never visited. On the trip, I got a feel for what life what like at all these schools, and it really helped.”

What better way to interest teens than to throw a party? BRYC has hosted two recruitment parties so far this spring, welcoming students and families from around Baton Rouge to eat, dance, meet our Fellows and staff, and learn more about what it’s like to be part of BRYC. With the help of our Fellows, these events were hugely successful, and as we prepare for our last recruitment party on May 18, we expect that trend to continue.

With increased support from staff and the community, and the heightened engagement of our Fellows as recruitment ambassadors, we are thrilled to showcase BRYC’s offerings to a greater proportion of this city’s youth. By the end of June, with a combination of current and new Fellows, we will have assembled our largest class to date.

BRYC Sophomore, Tiera (middle), gets to know prospective Fellows at our first recruitment party of the spring.

Sophomore Darren and Junior Jaala manned the check-in table at BRYC’s first recruitment party.

Brian and Paula Williams’ dedication typifies the parent engagement we hope for at BRYC.

BRYC and food have always gone together. From crawfish boils to nightly program dinners, the meals our Fellows share form the foundation of BRYC’s familial culture. No one who has done more to support this tradition than Brian and Paula Williams. The parents of a Sophomore and Senior Fellow, Brian and Paula both work full-time, yet still find time to regularly fill Fellow bellies, and in doing so, put smiles on lots of faces. I wanted to know the ingredients behind this exceptional generosity, so I caught up with Brian and Paula themselves.

What has driven you to be so extraordinarily helpful in feeding out Fellows?

My wife and I have a great joy of cooking, and we think of the BRYC Fellows and staff of an extension of our family.

Do you feel that BRYC has been beneficial to your daughters?

The benefits that our daughters have received from BRYC are overwhelming. BYRC has given them the education and confidence to seek more for themselves, therefore seeking more for their communities.

Based on your experience this year, what was the most popular food you contributed?

Wow! It’s kind of hard to pick! We wanted to give the kids choices that were not everyday kinds of meals. We wanted to give fresh fruit for its nutritive value and baked ziti for a new twist on spaghetti and meatballs. We wanted our food to be varied, just like the experiences BRYC has given them.

Among her many roles, our Youth and Family Advocate Darlene Shaffer is charged with ensuring there is food on the table at every program. On Brian and Paula, Darlene says, “They are just incredible, and I don’t know what I would have done without them this year. I can’t tell you the number of times they donated food not only for nightly program, but for our crawfish boil and other special events. We are so lucky to call them members of the BRYC Family.”

Tesia

This spring we spotlight Tesia, freshman at Guilford College in North Carolina and all-around rockstar. When she is not majoring in psychology and earning a 3.3 GPA, Tesia is doing things no other BRYC Fellow has done before.

Tesia was one of 14 Guilford freshmen awarded a full scholarship through the Bonner Scholars Program. This national service initiative not only creates opportunities for students to impact local communities, but to travel and learn about communities across the country. Each year, the Guilford Bonner Scholars travel to Washington, D.C. or South Carolina to learn about the local history and culture, and engage in service. But this year, Tesia had other plans.

A Baton Rougean through and through, she convinced her supervisors that her hometown was not only unparalleled in its cultural and historical richness, but that it was ripe for meaningful service. From transportation to hotels to meals to coordinating a panel of local leaders, Tesia planned this 10-day excursion to the hour. She even arranged for the Bonner Scholars to participate in BRYC’s Junior College Seminar program.

Bonner Scholars and Junior Fellows teamed up for a nightly program.

What would you say was the purpose of this trip?
The purpose of the trip was to learn about a different culture, to learn about issues within the Baton Rouge community, and find out ways to help. People were especially interested in learning about the effects of Katrina, and also, the racial barriers within Baton Rouge.

Which part of the trip did your classmates like the best?
The food! People loved jambalaya and boudin. But seriously, I think the most popular experience was the panel. The panel was the most influential thing because it told people the truth about everything that’s gone on here.

What was it like to introduce BRYC to your college friends?
It was amazing to show my friends the program that helped me get to where I am now. I wanted people to see the amazing staff and students. It was a very proud day for me to see the effective interaction between my college peers and the BRYC Fellows. I think both sides benefited very much!

The New BRYC House

We are thrilled to announce our recent move to the new and improved BRYC House. With six large bedrooms, two bathrooms, three common areas, and off-street parking, 611 North Street offers the space and flexibility needed to accommodate our growing and programmatically diverse organization. On any given night, formal program can take place while multiple students receive tutoring and staff members complete key administrative work. The house has also proven to be a perfect venue for recruitment parties, offering a chance for prospective Fellows to engage with our community without BRYC having to pay exorbitant rental fees. Most importantly, the Fellows love it, and there is ample room to host movie and game nights! We look forward to continuing to make ourselves feel at home, and hope you will stop by to do the same!

For further information, feel free to contact lucas@thebryc.org.