LANSING, Mich. — Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) extends its congratulations to two Michigan students who received $40,000 scholarships through College Board Opportunity Scholarships. The students, who attend Frontier International Academy and Detroit Edison Public School Academy, were among the 25 students awarded a $40,000 Complete Your Journey scholarship, the largest prize given out by the program. Both schools are located in Detroit. The students were surprised with the scholarship announcement earlier today on “Good Morning America.”
[Watch the “Good Morning America” clip here]
“This scholarship is for every student, no matter their background or what school they attend. It’s about giving all students a chance to raise their hands and be seen,” said College Board CEO David Coleman in a press release. “These 25 students are as diverse and strong as the country we call home; they come from small towns, cities, and everywhere in between. What unites them is that they have overcome adversity and taken a series of small steps to earn themselves a big future.”
“We recommend College Board Opportunity Scholarships to all the high schools we work with, because it’s a great way to demystify the college-going process” said Jamie Jacobs, MCAN’s deputy director and director of High School Innovation. “It breaks everything down to manageable steps with a clear timeline, and the scholarship drawings provide an extra incentive to students. We’re excited to see these two huge scholarships go to Michigan students, and we hope it encourages other schools in connecting students to this valuable scholarship and college preparation resource.”
Best known as the administrators of the SAT and AP exams, College Board has been a strategic partner of MCAN in helping to improve college access and readiness in Michigan. Their Opportunity Scholarships program incentivizes the college preparation process by entering students into scholarship drawings for each step they take, from building a college list to completing the FAFSA to ultimately applying to colleges. Students who complete all six of the program’s steps are eligible for the $40,000 Complete Your Journey scholarship.
“The majority of our students at Frontier International Academy are first-generation immigrants and from lower socioeconomic communities. More than half of them will be the first in their families to attend college,” said Bushra Hussain, school counselor at Frontier International Academy. “Every scholarship dollar makes their transition to college easier and reduces their worries of how to pay for tuition. We are grateful to College Board and Michigan College Access Network for providing resources and making higher education more accessible for all students.”
“Low-income communities have been historically consistent in lacking resources and opportunities to help them further advance their education. They miss out on many scholarships, grants and other funding that are readily available to their peers in affluent communities,” said Mohammed Alsanai, principal of Frontier International Academy. “Thanks to the help of Michigan College Access Network and programs like College Board Opportunity Scholarships, our students are able to move past these hurdles and move forward in their educational advancement.”
The College Board Opportunity Scholarships program is now open to the class of 2022. Interested students can learn more and sign up at opportunity.collegeboard.org.
Detroit students qualified for scholarships by completing college preparation steps