Celebrating the Class of 2020!
June 17, 2020 in Uncategorized by Lisa Ruben
On Sunday June 14, PSP’s class of 2020 celebrated their high school success and continuation to college with family, friends, mentors, board members, donors and staff through a virtual, live ceremony. Seeing the faces of so many people who make PSP the strong community that it is – scholars, mentors, parents, donors and friends from across California – brought home the strength of our inter-connectedness, even when we meet online instead of in real life.
Over the past few months, the students in PSP’s class of 2020 have had to grapple with unforeseen challenges. The health pandemic has changed all our lives since last March. But with the guidance of their parents and PSP mentors, every graduate handled these challenges with grace and successfully completed high school and made the choice to continue their education.
PSP’s Board Chair Ray Andry had inspiring words for the graduates. “The young men and women who have participated in this program are our social justice advocates,” Ray shared, “Today you join that amazing group of individuals who have come through the Partner Scholarship Program – who are going to change the world.”
Mentors also congratulated the scholars and shared words of wisdom. Rachel Binah, the site coordinator from the North Coast region, encouraged students to “Be yourself – everyone else is taken.”
Scholars introduced themselves and shared their highlights from the past six years in the program, including college trips in the East Coast to outings to sports events.
One scholar from each region was selected to share in-depth about their PSP experience. Alexis from El Monte, Angel from Lennox, Cecilia from Ukiah and Liliana from Fort Bragg expressed intense pride and appreciation for their PSP mentors and family. There were definitely tears of joy!
Liliana (Fort Bragg) |
Angel (Lennox) |
Cecilia (Ukiah) |
Alexis (El Monte) |
Partnership Scholars is grateful to our donors and mentors who make all of this happen. And to the parents who have lovingly trusted us by allowing their children to participate in this program.
Lastly, PSP is honored and appreciative of the scholars themselves. We are cheering them on and looking forward to hear of all of their successes. We know it won’t be easy, but as we have seen, they can achieve anything they put their minds to.
The murder of George Floyd, following the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and the many other Black people going back generations, has sparked protest around the globe and in our home cities. We at PSP share your struggle with the intense feelings that these killings bring up – heartbreak, anger, fear, helplessness. My hope for our world is that this moment will be one step a path that ends in true and swift reform of our culture and institutions so that not one more life will be taken.
Even as we all need to continue staying physically away from one another, PSP is still here for our community of students, mentors and families. Our team is working our regular schedule from home, and can still be reached at our regular phone and email addresses.
With the rapid spread of COVID-19, we are reminded of the need to take care of our communities, families and ourselves. The PSP staff has compiled two sets of resources to provide information and direct help to our community members. Please feel free to share these with anyone else you think may find them helpful.
Partnership Scholars Program had the pleasure of introducing the newest PSP Scholars to the larger Lennox community at an induction ceremony on a rainy November night. Board members, school staff, PSP alumni, donors, families, mentors and current scholars celebrated these eight new students.
Charter High School, imparted advice to new students and shared his experience thus far in the program. Calling PSP “a once in a life time milestone,” Angel emphasized five benefits of being part of PSP, including financial assistance, cultural awareness, personal growth, mentorship, and collegial awareness. Use the links below to hear Angel talk about…
This year PSP is introducing a new component to our programming: Community Gatherings. These Gatherings will be held four times per year at each of our Southern California sites. The vision for these gatherings is to build a stronger community by bringing together students and mentors for shared learning and to strengthen their mentoring relationships. PSP held our first Community Gatherings in Lennox and El Monte just before Halloween. 
Students are back in school now, embarking on a new year of learning. For many, this is just a continuation of their summer efforts. This July, 55 PSP students and mentors got an early start on learning how to navigate the complicated college and financial aid application processes. 
The Los Angeles Times posted a moving 
The Partnership Scholars Program community is deeply saddened by the loss of Dr. Glenn Langer, our founder and long-time leader. Anyone who met Glenn immediately felt the power of his personality and his passion for creating a better world than the one he entered. With his creation of Partnership Scholars Program in in 1996, Dr. Langer took a simple idea and created a lasting legacy across California. In founding PSP, Dr. Langer and his late wife Marianne together created opportunities for more than 600 students to date to achieve their dreams of college and lifetime success. 
