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For Immediate Release Cathedral Scholars Set to Graduate August 1st Fifteen rising senior students from DC public high schools will celebrate the end of their three-year commitment to Washington National Cathedral’s Scholar Program on August 1st at 10 am with a special graduation ceremony. Scheduled to speak at the ceremony will be Alma Powell, co-chair of Americas Promise and wife of Secretary of State Collin Powel along with Paul Vance, superintendent of the DC public schools. The event is being held in the Cathedral’s Pilgrim Observation Gallery. The Scholar Program is designed to give high achieving DC public high school students important educational and vocational opportunities outside the traditional classroom setting. During the summer the scholars (15 rising sophomores, juniors and seniors) spend each morning taking classes in English, mathematics, computer technology and SAT preparation. In the afternoon, they disperse around the District to assigned paid internships. They intern in offices on the Cathedral grounds, in DC government offices and in the private sector. In the fall, scholars participate in cultural enrichment activities including attending concerts, visiting museums and art galleries, and participating in high-profile Washington social events such as the Martin Luther King Jr. birthday celebration at the Kennedy Center and events sponsored by the United Negro College Fund. Fifteen rising sophomores are chosen annually to enter the program. They are nominated by their high school guidance counselor and are accepted after an intensive interview process. They must maintain honor roll status to remain in the program. Graduates of the program have gone on to many outstanding universities including Duke, Stanford, Temple, Dartmouth, Moorehouse, Howard and Penn State. Cathedral Scholars Program Class of 2004 W. Wilson High School- Jamie Adams , Katherine Scott, Phu Pham, Michele McKenzie H.D. Woodson High School- Marvin Arias, Alfonso Dormu Jr. Spingarn High School- Mercedes Burke Ellington School of the Arts- Rochelle Boykin Bey, Jonathan McCrory, Jobari Parker-Namdar, Davie Yarborough Ballou High School- Nicole Fitzhugh, Kevin Harris, Lauren Oliver Roosevelt High School- Monique Headley # # # Office of Public Affairs July 30, 2003 |