As graduation approaches, local nonprofit’s high school student participants have their pick of top colleges and universities
May 18, 2022
Wilmington, Del. — Seniors in the Class of 2022 had to adapt to a high school experience full of pandemic-related restrictions and missed opportunities.
Yet, during TeenSHARP’s College Signing Day on Thursday, May 19th at 6 pm, nearly 80 high school seniors in the program are ready to announce the prestigious higher education options their diligence afforded them.
College Signing Day is an annual event that brings together TeenSHARP students, their parents, and community members in a virtual setting to celebrate the achievements of students who are traditionally underrepresented at the most selective colleges.
This includes students like MOT Charter High School senior Seun Ogundimu, who was accepted into 7 of the 8 Ivy League schools including Yale, Harvard, Brown, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, and Dartmouth.
Dover High School senior Hanifah Ouro-Sama will also be announcing which college she selected from a list that includes Harvard and Yale.
At a time when concerns about rising student loan debt are raging, TeenSHARP seniors such as Damilola Oguntuyo (William Penn High School) and Kaseem Simmons (Middletown High School) will share about the full-ride offers they received from the colleges they selected.
TeenSHARP co-founder and CEO, Atnre Alleyne, recognizes how special and significant the moment will be on Thursday.
He shared: “Our TeenSHARP community has persisted through enormous challenges over the last few years and we’ve kept our focus on our ambitious goals. Each of our seniors has a beautiful story to tell and we are ready for all the tears, joy, and cheers of 2022 College Signing Day.”
The options open to these students are not unusual for TeenSHARP scholars. Each year, TeenSHARP delivers college prep services to hundreds of Black, Latino, and low-income students in the Delaware Valley region.
These services include individualized college guidance and application support, college awareness boot camps for students and parents, intensive Saturday sessions where students take rigorous college-level courses, and leadership training. The work is demanding, but the students are up for it.
As TeenSHARP honors the hard work and accomplishments of its senior class on May 19th from 6 PM – 7:30 PM during College Signing Day, the program is also inviting students of color and low-income students heading into grades 9 through 11 to apply to join its program.
Community members can RSVP to attend College Signing Day [teensharp.us3.list-manage.com].
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Students rising into grades 9 through 11 can apply to TeenSHARP [teensharp.us3.list-manage.com].
About TeenSHARP: TeenSHARP is a Wilmington, Del.-based nonprofit that prepares Black, Latino, and low-income students to attend and thrive at America’s top colleges. Founded in 2009 by Atnre Alleyne and Tatiana Poladko, TeenSHARP has evolved into a leading provider of innovative, at-scale college access and leadership development in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Year after year, 100 percent of TeenSHARP scholars successfully pursue a 4-year college education, with 95 percent admitted to the most selective colleges, and the majority graduating with $15,000 or less in college debt. TeenSHARP’s mission is in service of a bold vision that, one day, the diversity of our country’s top jobs and most influential leadership positions will reflect the country’s rich diversity.