Published by Jasmin Barmore from the Detroit Free Press
Metro Detroit college-bound freshmen are being celebrated on Wednesday at the annual Young Gifted and College Bound community-wide graduation and college send-off ceremony at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre.
Metro Detroit college-bound freshmen are being celebrated on Wednesday at the annual Young Gifted and College Bound community-wide graduation and college send-off ceremony at the Aretha Franklin Amphitheatre.
A spokesperson for Huntington Bank, one of the sponsors for the event, said it is important “to support and empower youth who will serve as our future leaders.”
“Huntington is a long-standing partner with The Aretha, serving as a sponsor for the last few years,” LaTrice McClendon, Huntington’s Detroit market executive/community president. “The Aretha is an iconic cornerstone of the community and has a long history of supporting the city and its residents.
“At Huntington we are dedicated to empowering our future leaders and we are excited to support this year’s Young, Gifted, College Bound scholarship.”
Mausi, whose company manages the theater and created the event, said the idea of helping students in Detroit came after she saw an event at a grandson’s orientation for Morehouse College in Atlanta. She says the event charged the incoming students and parents with figuring out what the next phase of life would be about. It made such an impact on her, she said, that it made her think it would be great to support students from her hometown.
“It was so moving I thought it would be great to have an event in Detroit where we, as a community, can charge our young people as they go away to college…,” the mother of four sons said. “When they leave here, they are not just representing themselves, but their families and their entire community … so we, as a community, can give them some words of wisdom and some money to help launch them into the next phase of their life.”
Students must be present and registered to win. She said her plan is to give each student $500, but no matter what, “no student will leave empty-handed.”
“Detroit produces great people and we want to invest in our young people as they launch and call them to return.”
To register a student or donate for the event go to the thearetha.com/. Doors open at 5 p.m.
Jasmin Barmore is born and raised in the city of Detroit. She covers the city’s neighborhoods and communities using her passion as her drive to give the voiceless a voice. You can reach her at jmbarmore@freepress.com or by sending her a message on Instagram or Twitter at @bjasminmare.