The Arlington branch of the NAACP recently awarded nearly $60,000 in college scholarships to Arlington high-school students.
Recipients were selected based on academics, school/community involvement, leadership potential, commitment to the ideals of the NAACP and, in the case of some scholarships, demonstrated financial need.
Receiving $10,000 renewable Arlington Branch NAACP Future Leaders Scholarships were:
• Joana Agboka, a graduate of H-B Woodlawn Secondary Program, who will attend Virginia Commonwealth University and aims to study nursing.
• Chelsea Figaro, a graduate of Wakefield High School, who plans to study political science and history at North Carolina A&T University.
• Alexander Hall, a graduate of Wakefield High School, who will attend the University of Virginia and is undecided on his major.
• Elena Ogbe, a graduate of Wakefield High School, who will study nursing at James Madison University.
• Belen Tesfaye, a graduate of Washington-Liberty High School, who will attend Northeastern University and aims to study health sciences.
Rylei Porter, a graduate of Yorktown High School, was presented with a $5,000, renewable Willard Woodson Brittain Jr. Foundation Scholarship. She will be attending Belmont University and will study business and public relations as it relates to the music industry.
Abel Geleta, a graduate of Washington-Liberty High School, received the Brittain Foundation Scholarship but because his college costs (at Yale University) are being covered by a variety of other scholarships, he declined the financial stipend but will participate in other portions of the scholarship program. Geleta is undecided about his field of study, but has an interest in law.
Kira Harrison, a graduate of Washington-Liberty High School, earned a one-time Arlington Branch NAACP Scholarship of $1,500, which she will use to study landscape horticulture at Virginia Tech.
(Like all students, Harrison was asked to provide a quote that inspired her. She chose one from the late landscape painter Bob Ross – still seen on public broadcasting – who noted that “there are no mistakes, just happy accidents.”)
Celeste Clark of Washington-Liberty also earned the $1,500 one-time scholarship; she is headed to Duke University and plans to study biology or sociology.
The Arlington NAACP was founded in 1940 as a branch of the national NAACP. The current chapter president is Julius “J.D.” Spain Sr.