I Believe in Me Scholarship Helps College-Bound Kids Soar

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QBG and IIT are partnering to open the doors of higher education for deserving youth throughout the city and state. Left to right: Mike Gosz, PhD, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs and Associate Professor of Mechanical & Materials Engineering at IIT; William Garth, Sr., CEO of the Citizen Newspaper and Founder and Chairman of the QBG Foundation; Jerry Doyle, IITs Vice Provost, Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. Photo: Kimani Brooks.
QBG and IIT are partnering to open the doors of higher education for deserving youth throughout the city and state. Left to right: Mike Gosz, PhD, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs and Associate Professor of Mechanical & Materials Engineering at IIT; William Garth, Sr., CEO of the Citizen Newspaper and Founder and Chairman of the QBG Foundation; Jerry Doyle, IITs Vice Provost, Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid. Photo: Kimani Brooks.

For young people looking for hope and a way to survive, an education is often the only way to turn a bad situation into something good. In an effort to effect positive change and provide hope for Chicagos youth, the Quentis Bernard Garth (QBG) Foundation awards scholarships to hardworking college-bound high school seniors who need financial assistance. This year, the foundation identified students who are achieving even in the face of adversity.

Most cant help but think of 16-year old Derrion Albert, the Fenger honor student whose death made national headlines. The innocent Albert was fatally beaten while leaving school last year. His death has greatly affected the school and the wider community. Now, theres a different story unfolding at Fenger as recent graduates Glen Fulton and Christina Bass, along with KiaraCaradine, a 2010 graduate of Homewood-Flossmore High School, have been selected as recipients of the 2010 QBG Foundation I Believe in Me Scholarship. The scholarship, which will be presented at the Annual QBG Fundraiser and Dinner held at the Hyatt Regency Chicago at 5:30 on July 31, offers students a chance to excel in spite of the odds.

When we see kids are having a hard time, we have to reach out to those kids and realize that if someone just believes in them, we could improve their lives, QBG Chairman Bill Garth said. Believing in kidsthats what the foundation set out to do when it looked at students who have overcome major obstacles, Garth added. With the scholarships, he hopes the foundation will help make a difference. QBG, in conjunction with its community and corporate partners, the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), Central State University, Jewel, and ComEd, among others, are making sure that Bass and Fulton dont have to worry about the cost of continuing their education.

Fulton, whose life has been side tracked by family issues, has lived with his twin sister in Chicago all of his life. The siblings grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes with their parents until they were ten when they were removed from their parents care by DCFS because of domestic violence.

The two were separated for a time while being raised by two of their aunts, but ended up back together at age 13 with their Aunt Lillian Fulton. Since then, they have been living in Roseland and attended Fenger High School for all four years. Despite some setbacks, Fulton only missed one day of school at Fenger during his freshman year where he gained a reputation for being kind and respectful.

When it comes to computers, hes a wiz and over the years has learned to troubleshoot most computer problems, a skill, for the most part, he has learned on his own. At Fenger, he continues to work as part of the technology crew where the promise for success lies in his hope to attend Chicago State University where he plans to go on to study computer technology. As he worries about basic necessities like housing, he hopes the scholarship opportunity will help him to build on what he has already accomplished--putting him one step closer to a career in computers.

Bass, who has had to care for her mother who has cancer, aims first to attend the City Colleges of Chicago (CCC). If she does well, she may have a chance to further her education at the Illinois Institute of Technology, which works with the city colleges to help students build a pathway to succeed at the private four-year institute. Over the past several months, the Illinois Institute of Technology and the Office of the Chancellor at CCC have begun to set the groundwork to develop a coordinated path to IIT for students who are interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (traditionally referred to as STEM fields) as well as the fields of business, architecture and psychology.

According to Jerry Doyle, IITs Vice Provost of Admissions and Financial Aid, many students who start at one of the city colleges and then go on to complete their educations at IIT have done extraordinarily well in recent years completing research projects and academic work at the highest levels.

The message that we need to send is this, there are many paths to achieve your professional and personal goals in life and for a great many students, this path starts at a city college. At Illinois Institute of Technology, we are proud to partner with Chancellor Hyman and the presidents of the city colleges of Chicago to build clear pathways for students. We are equally committed to providing merit-scholarships and need-based financial assistance to enable students to realize their dreams.

We are committed to preparing the next generation for undergraduate and advanced degrees in STEM fields, says Alan Cramb, IIT Provost and Senior Vice President. At IIT, students who excel in these fields will be tomorrows leaders in improving and advancing the human condition, he adds.

Doyle has also indicated that the Office of Admission very much wants to talk to students and their families who are interested in pursuing an undergraduate education at IIT for Fall 2010. There are dozens and dozens of highly qualified students in the city of Chicago who have the academic credentials at the secondary school or community college level but who have either not made a final choice for Fall 2010, or who as one incoming south side student recently told Doyle, Going to IIT is the most important investment that I can make in my future, and that with IIT institutional grants and scholarships along with federal and state assistance, the education at IIT is affordable. Unfortunately, not everyone knows that there are financial and academic resources available to support a private school education. We just need to get this word out.

Its important to note that at IIT, every student applicant to the university will automatically be considered for Heald and University merit-scholarships (up to $10,000 each per year). In addition, IIT offers many full-tuition need-based scholarships for the residents of the city of Chicago; these scholarships also include assistance for housing, books and fees. IIT has committed to working with the Citizen Newspaper in an effort to recruit deserving underrepresented students. For more information, please call 773-783-1251.

The QBG initiative has captured the attention of the broader business community. A. Finkl & Sons, a Chicago-based manufacturer of specialty steel products, intends to relocate to the citys south side. Finkl CEO Bruce Liimatainen, who has also served on the board of IIT, said, Our companys success and future growth depends on qualified employees and interns who are looking for real-world manufacturing experience. We support the QBG Foundations efforts to bring more young people into science and technology and are committed to furthering the cause.

Central State University, located in Wilberforce, Ohio, is also partnering with QBG to provide a $10,000 scholarship to a deserving student. The university offers leading edge programs in urban education, manufacturing and environmental engineering as well as jazz studies and has graduated generations of leaders in fields ranging from education, business, and communications, to the natural sciences and the fine and performing arts. More than 80 percent of Central State University graduates go on to graduate school or pursue a career in their field within one year of graduation.

Central State offers a welcoming and diverse community designed with the student in mind, says Hedy Diop, president of Central State University-Chicago Alumni Chapter whose participating in the effort on a local level. Our nurturing environment encourages both the intellectual and social development of our students; we will prepare students to not only excel in their chosen careers but also to lead and serve others. Here students will be part of a caring community. They will receive hands-on learning and personal mentoring by professors who truly care about their goals and ambitions. Bass and Fulton live in the 34th ward. There is no project without community partnershipspartnership[s] start with the community, said Ald. Carrie Austin (34th). Our childrenthats my futuremy legacy[it] is my charge to open up every [avenue], she continued, adding that the charge allows them to say, to believe, I can do things of substance.

I really like taking care of people, said Bass, who wants to go into nursing, criminal justice or another science-related field. My mom is really sickIm busy trying to take care of her, Bass continued. This scholarship would mean a lot to me. Caradine will be attending Concordia University in Wisconsin, where she will pursue courses in physical therapy. While running track she snapped her hamstring. Since going through physical therapy, shes decided she wants to help others do the same. I want to help people like me get back on their feet and continue to do something they love, she said. As Garth looks ahead, he sees an opportunity to brighten the futures of many young people. With all of our corporate and institutional partners, we can play a pivotal role in changing things on the South side and throughout Chicago, he said. Thats the key...that way, when you read the newspaper or turn on the television, its not about someone whose become the victim of some grave circumstance--its about someone who is succeeding, someone who is really trying and wants to succeed.

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