A year ago, Yusra Elrayah was wondering how she would pay for college. A native of Sudan, Elrayah said she has always wanted to go to college after graduating high school. Now that she is completing her senior year, she has received $1,500 from the John Porter Scholarship from the Alexandria Scholarship Fund. During a special award presentation last week, Elrayah was formally presented with the scholarship in a ceremony that served to ease the anxiety shared by many high school seniors who wonder about how they will be able to pay for college.
"Last year I was terrified, but now that I know I’ve got funding I’m feeling pretty confident," said Elrayah, who plans to study medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University. "I can’t wait until August."
Elrayah’s enthusiasm is at the core of the Scholarship Fund’s mission. For more than 20 years, the nonprofit organization has offered money to graduating seniors at T.C. Williams High School. Since its founding in 1986, the organization has awarded more than $4 million to 2,500 students. This year alone, the nonprofit awarded $350,000 to more than 200 students. Each general-fund scholarship was for $1,800 with a chance to renew the scholarship in subsequent years. Next year, the nonprofit organization hopes to be able to offer individual general-fund scholarships in the amount of $2,000 because of its recent success in fundraising.
"We’ve had tremendous community support this year," said Susan Yowell, executive director. "Both our spring gala and our fall telethon set new records."
Yowell said that much of the organization’s financial success was due to Toyota dealer and philanthropist Jack Taylor. This year, he offered to match $100,000 from either new donors or those who wished to increase their contributions. The effort was a success, and the effort raised an additional $200,000 for the Scholarship Fund.
"My goal is that any kid at T.C. Williams who wants to go to college can go — regardless of their ability to pay," said Taylor. "I don’t think we’re there yet, but we’re working on it."
According to the organization’s annual report, 30 percent of scholarship recipients attend a four-year public school in Virginia and 21 percent attend a two-year public school in Virginia. During its 20th anniversary year, the organization added the College Guide Program, sponsored by the University of Virginia to provide trained advisors to help students complete the financial aid process. Next year, the nonprofit hopes to use its fund-raising prowess to extend the boundaries of its influence.
"We’ve had a record-breaking year in terms of fund-raising," said Michael Porterfield, chairman of the board of trustees. "But that increased fund-raising will turn around and go right back out the door. So we need to do even better next year."
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<b>Winners</b>
Madeline Abram
Rachel Abram
Ibrahim Adem
Marian Aden
Juan Aguilar
Nesbine Akhter
Sharmin Akhter
Rami Aldhobhani
Jihan Al-Halali
Stefan Allicock
Oscar Amaya
Monir Amer
Iqra Anwar
Ariana Appleton
Stephanie Arbieto
John Artemel
Sayyam Ashraf
Danielle Ashton
Ndeloa Asonganyi
Leslie Auceda
Mohamed Awad
Maurice Bailey
Jillian Beasley
Christopher Beiro
Andrew Benjamin
Jamal Berry
Taekia Blackwell
Dorcas-Vehocke Bouhan
Sarah Boyd
Patrick Briley
Michelle Browning
Daniel Bryant
Kasia Bryant
Keyana Buckner
Nene Bundu
Edward Caglayan
John Cala
Vanessa Campbell-Smith
Jocelin Canas
Chloe Carcamo
Megan Carr
Thomas Carroll
Justin Carter
Heather Casey
Chaz Clarke
Hillary Clausen
Enoch Cleckley
Drew Cohen
Elizabeth Conrad
Meredith Cosier
Selam Dade
Paul Dallas
Sara Danver
Alexander Davis
Devon Dawson
Torin Denniston
Monique DeZarn
Matthew Dieter
Candice Draper
Kenesha Dudley
Hannah Durant
Cathryn Dutton
Yusra Elrayeh
Catherine Engh
Letichia Epps
Moises Escobar
Diana Espinoza
Kirubel Feleke
Elizabeth Fitzsimmons
Frederick Flores-Garcia
Trashun Floure
Joseph Francois-Ashbrook
Jamel Frazier
Gideon Frimpong
Kevin Garrahan
Fil Beth Gatmaitan
Minilik Gebregiorgis
Emma Gisiger
Fitsum Gizaw
Rachel Goldfarb
Cynthia Gonzalez
Anna Gray
Tangiere Green
Tikeah Grigsby
Jose Guevara-Flores
Yama Habib
Nabila Hafez
Meheret Haile
Mohammed Hajaji
Jessica Hall
Delonte Hardy
Delonte Hardy
Giordano Hardy-Gerena
Giulianni Hardy-Gerena
Brian Heming
Celesse Hidrovo-Guidry
Megan Hodgkins
Kaylen Hopson
Trenell Hoskins
Shazad Hussain
Mohammed Hussein
Nicole Iribarren
Roxie Jairrels
Alexander Johnson
Latasha Johnson
Mercedes Jones
Ibrahim Kamara
Matthew Kerwin
Kamaria Keys
Azeem Khan
John Kilby
Rachael Knapp
Aubrey Knight
Justin Knoernschild
Rhiannon Knol
Samella Koroma
Francis Kuffour
Ciara Langley
Sandy Lara
Daniel Lauchu
Rebecca Lehr
James Leslie
Bryant Lopes
Elizabeth Luby
Stephanie Lunt
Rachel Lyons
Sumeet Mahal
Kendra Martell
Sheila Martin
William Martindale
Stephanie Martinez
Brittany Master
Kayla McCormick
Colleen McEnearney
Andrew McGehee
Bettaujawa McPherson
Omar Miller
Amber Mills
Amy Milyko
Tahir Mohamed
Kimberly Molina
Natalie Moore
Alberto Moreno
Grace Muderhwa
Vanessa Munevar
Timothy Neilson
Samuel Nettey
Rachel Neurohr
Shaphon Newton
Amber Niewald
Brittany Ninman
Bridget O'Brien
Robin O'Neil
Michelle Paige
Elisabeth Palmer
Jorge Palominos
Danielle Parker
Stephanie Pimm
Hanna Pitcher
Amanda Poe
Martinia Rich
Jazmein Ruffin
Abdullah Said
Christiana Sewah
William Shafroth
Tyjuane Sharpe
Daniel Sherlock
Andriy Shvab
Mia Simpson
Brett Sirois
Peter Smeallie
Chrisandra Smith
Walter Smith
Olivia Snider
Beza Solomon
Mirenda Soo-Hoo
Dominique Spencer
Misa Spencer
Monique Sturdivant
Tayyaba Syed
Marissa Terry
Mahlet Teshome
Natnael Teshome
Brittany Thompson
Satasha Torres
Ashley Tremble
Eden Tsegaye
Megan Tuck
Madeline Underwood
Willy Vaca
Andrew Vanderhoeven
Maria Vazquez-Lang
Edgar Ventura
Alexander von Guggenberg
Alexandra Wagner
Charles Ward
Elisabeth Watts
Margaret Wherry
Tamara Wilkerson
Sharday Williams
Brittany Winbush
Cristina Wood
Shartis Wright
Courtney Wu
John Yeingst
Metasebia Yilma
Mario Zambrano