A recent Northeast High School graduate and college-bound student, Qwajarik Sims, who is served through Philadelphia Futures’ Sponsor-A-Scholar Program, was a participant at First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2015 Beating the Odds summit at the White House.
The summit brought together more than 130 college-bound students from across the country, education leaders and celebrities and focused on the tools and strategies that low-income, first-generation-to-college students can use to successfully transition to college, and identifying the resources they will need to obtain their college degree.
Sims sat in the first row for a panel discussion that featured Michelle Obama and Arne Duncan, secretary for the U.S. Department of Education.
“Sitting just a few feet from first lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, (E! News host) Terrence Jenkins and (musician) Wale is an experience that will inspire me as I begin my college journey,” Sims said. “I am honored to be a part of this important discussion surrounding college access.”
Sims was one of two students nominated to participate in the Summit by The Asomugha Foundation. He participated in the foundation’s Asomugha College Tour for Scholars program last year. The program is led by former NFL cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.
Sims will enter Haverford College this fall. He is a student in Philadelphia Futures’ Sponsor-A-Scholar Program, which serves students from Philadelphia’s public high schools from ninth grade through college completion and offers students an array of services and resources that include year-round academic enrichment, individualized college guidance, extracurricular activities, one-on-one mentoring, financial incentives and staff support through high school and college.
For more information about Philadelphia Futures, contact Holly Mantle at 215–790–1666, Ext. 422 or hollymantle@philadelphiafutures.org ••
