Ijeoma Oleru just graduated from University School of Jackson and is set to begin college in August at Yale with plans to eventually go to medical school and become a pediatrician.
Christine Pattilo just graduated from Crockett County High School and is headed for Belmont University biology.
Both of them got some help in paying for their expenses this week when they each received a $2,500 scholarship from Jackson Pride.
This was the first time Jackson Pride, an organization meant to spread awareness of the LGBTQ community and inclusion for everyone, was able to award the scholarships.
“This is something we’ve been wanting to do for a couple years now and raised funds to be able to do that,” said Darren Lykes, one of the executive board members for Jackson Pride.
Applicants for the scholarship wrote an essay explaining why they wanted the scholarship and how it would help them.
Both Oleru and Pattilo said they applied for a large number of scholarships, so they were both glad to be able to win this one.
“This is the biggest scholarship I’ve won so far, and I’m very grateful to be chosen for it,” Oleru said.
“I’m paying for my own education, so I’m trying to get as much as I can,” Pattilo said.
Lykes said this is a way for Jackson Pride to give back to the community.
“Jackson Pride is about including everyone and helping everyone that we can,” Lykes said. “So when we began discussing giving back to the community, awarding an annual scholarship was one thing that we wanted to do early on.”
“We’re starting on getting that together with sponsorships and everything that will be happening that day,” Lykes said, adding that funds raised from the event go toward community efforts like the scholarship as well as funding the event itself.
Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news
