During a drive-thru ceremony held yesterday in the parking lot of the Scottish Rite Masonic Center in Sacramento, the Capital Area Promise Scholars program awarded college scholarships to more than 60 high school students. Scholarships ranged from $1,500 to $2,500 each. The recipients also got a Surface Pro laptop, donated by Intel and Microsoft as part of the COVID-19 Response and Readiness Initiative.
“We are so proud of the young people receiving these scholarships and laptops,” said David W. Gordon, Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools. “These students got here through a lot of hard work, which got harder once COVID-19 disrupted their lives and their senior year.”
The drive-thru ceremony was carefully orchestrated to comply with social distancing guidelines. Participants stayed in their vehicles, waved, cheered, and honked their horns.
The scholarships were grant-funded through programs designed to help young people prepare for and enter college. The scholarship recipients attend high schools throughout Sacramento County, with a total of more than 300 students applying. Those selected are planning to attend either a California community college or a four-year university.
“We are thrilled for our students! These bright students have worked hard to get into college, and—in concert with the financial and academic support they receive as part of our Capital Area Promise Scholars program—these laptops will help ensure they have the tools they’ll need to succeed this fall,” said Carmen Ross, Program Manager, Impact Strategies, Sacramento Region Community Foundation. “The Coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated disparities in access to technology for many young people in our community, so this generous gift from Intel is coming at a crucial time.”
The Capital Area Promise Scholars (CAP) program is a partnership between the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE), the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, and Improve Your Tomorrow. The goal of the CAP program is to increase college completion rates among Sacramento County students who traditionally are underrepresented in higher education. The program has granted more than 600 scholarships and over $2 million to high-achieving, low-income students in the Sacramento area since 2015.