Local Coalition Announces 2020 Scholarship Recipients

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, June 17, 2020

NORTHERN VIRGINIA – The DMV Youth Leadership Coalition announced today the four recipients of its inaugural LEAD RIGHT Scholarship Awards. The dollar amount for each individual award is $5,000, and this amount is renewable for three consecutive years for recipients maintaining Grade Point Averages (GPAs) of 3.5 or better.

The LEAD RIGHT Scholarship Fund was established in 2019 to recognize, celebrate and affirm Authentic Leadership among underrepresented high school students of color in the Washington, DC/Metropolitan area. Recent reports indicate that the national college enrollment rate for Black and Hispanic students hovers well below 40 percent, with both tied at 36 percent, compared to 65 percent for Asian students and 41 percent for White students (The Condition of Education, 2019). These percentages are even lower for Native American students.

This year’s LEAD RIGHT Scholarship recipients include:

ARRINGTON EVANS, a 2020 graduate of Battlefield High School (Haymarket, Virginia). She will attend Virginia Commonwealth University in Fall 2020, majoring in Pre-Law – Political Science and Government.

SOFIA POSADA, a 2020 graduate of Washington Latin Public Charter School (Washington, DC). She will attend Georgetown University in Fall 2020.

KYLE WOODSON, a 2020 graduate of Battlefield High School (Haymarket, Virginia). He will attend the University of Virginia in Fall 2020 as an Echols Scholar.

ERIC SLEDGE, a 2020 graduate of Stonewall Jackson High School (Manassas, Virginia). He will attend Claflin University (Orangeburg, South Carolina), where he will pursue a degree in Computer Engineering while playing collegiate baseball.

Twenty-six (26) high school students of color submitted applications to the 2020 LEAD RIGHT Scholarship Fund. Submitted applications were reviewed and scored by a six-member panel of DMV Youth Leadership Coalition members. All 26 applicants qualified on the basis of race, ethnicity, GPA and US citizenship.

Seventy-six percent (76%) of the submitted applications came from students of color residing in Northern Virginia, specifically Prince William County, while another 12 percent from Washington, DC and 12 percent from Maryland. Twenty-seven percent (27%) of the applicants will be considered first-generation college students in Fall 2020.

ABOUT THE DMV YOUTH LEADERSHIP COALITION

The DMV Youth Leadership Coalition was formed in September 2018 by the principals of Everyday Mentorship, LLC and ACHIEVEMENT SQUARE Development & Training Centers, Inc. to recognize, celebrate and affirm Authentic Leadership among high school youths in the Washington, DC/Metropolitan area. An assemblage of concerned adults, its members are committed to preparing tomorrow’s leaders today by hosting community events and offering monetary scholarships that help young people develop better senses of self-identity, self-respect and self-worth while preparing them to be leaders right where they are.

The DMV Youth Leadership Coalition operates under the auspices of ACHIEVEMENT SQUARE Development & Training Centers, Inc., a 501(c)3 charitable organization based in Northern Virginia, in partnership with Everyday Mentorship, LLC and The Brickers Foundation.

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About Jeffery "J.A." Faulkerson

Jeffery "J.A." Faulkerson is the Executive Director of ACHIEVEMENT SQUARE Development & Training Centers, Inc. Through his Northern Virginia-based nonprofit corporation, he strives to help economically disadvantaged individuals increase their capacity to become great nurturers, great learners, great workers and great leaders. Jeffery is also a Nonprofit Strategist | Book Author | Motivational Speaker with Culturally Coded Content, a for-profit creative writing and strategic planning firm. He is the author of Adinkrahene: Fear of a Black Planet (fiction) and Real Men Raise CHAMPIONS: Unleashing Your Inner COACH (nonfiction). In July 2015, Adinkrahene: Fear of a Black Planet was named one of three finalists for a Phillis Wheatley Book Award (in the First Fiction category). The Phillis Wheatley Book Awards are held annually in conjunction with the Harlem Book Fair in New York City. A certified parent educator through Active Parenting Publishers, Inc., Jeffery is committed to showing all parents how to positively influence their children’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors. He earned his Master’s of Science degree in Social Work from the University of Tennessee, and has worked with professionals in both the public and private sectors for over 20 years to improve outcomes for low-income children and their families. Jeffery is available to speak about his insights and experiences as an author, child and family advocate, philanthropist, and former TRIO Upward Bound and YMCA director. He also offers fee-based services for individual and corporate clients and facilitates fee-based workshops for parents who understand the importance of honing their skills and learning from other people’s experiences.

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