MILWAUKEE — With the start of the school year around the corner, the Milwaukee Public Schools Foundation recognized the 2021 scholarship recipients.
Tuesday evening, 27 students and their families filled the No Studios Skyline room to meet the donors of the scholarships and celebrate their achievements.
Hundreds of students applied and 27 were chosen to receive the scholarships, totaling a record-breaking $200,000.
The scholarships range from $500 to $20,000.
MPS Foundation Executive Director Wendell Willis said over 80% of the students who received scholarships are the first in their families to attend college.
"We want to make sure our young people know that as they get ready to go off to college, they are not alone," Willis said. "Let's make sure that everybody has an equal and equitable opportunity to go forward and pursue their dreams."
Iman Snobar was among those students chosen from hundreds of applicants and is thrilled to have been selected for the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Scholarship.
"I'm so thankful to receive it, and secondly, I want to go into the law field. I hope to become a human rights attorney," Snobar said, smiling.
She will be attending the University of Chicago, and her scholarship will provide up to six years of life-changing assistance as she pursues law.
Snobar's family immigrated from Palestine and her parents always stressed the importance of receiving an education.
Her mother almost graduated college, but wasn't able to finish.
"I want to be a gateway for them [her parents] to also accomplish the things they weren't able to, because they were making a better life for me," Snobar said.
As she looks forward to her first year of college, she said she wants to pay it forward by helping others know they can do it too.
"I hope I can bring not only diversity, but more role models for other little girls to see that they can do this too," Snobar smiled.
Willis said he knows the students in the room will succeed and do great things.
