By Shelly Burningham
Accepting applications through March 15, 2020. Click here to learn more about the Real Life Scholarship.
Over the past few years in Real Life, many students have indicated that they want to go to college and have a decent job, but in reality there are many barriers that hinder them from following through on that dream. Because of this, Real Life implemented a new college preparation curriculum aimed at preparing high school students for post-secondary education.
2018-2019 Real Life Intern, Brayden Davies, said of this program, “The college preparation program has been very successful! The students are actively engaging and asking questions about concerns they have. They are finding schools that they are interested in going to and looking at requirements for entrance, allowing them to work towards these checkpoints.”
Youthlinc also implemented a new and meaningful scholarship program honoring Real Life students of refugee or immigrant background. We would like to thank the Low Family Foundation and Merrick Bank for their generous contributions to make this award possible.
Last year the winners were all first-generation college students. I was amazed at their motivation, hard work, bravery, resilience and sincere desire to follow their dream. Their life has not been easy. Each of them have overcome many obstacles. I am extremely proud of them. They are inspirational and all very deserving of this award. Please click here to read the bios of each Real Life Scholarship winner.
The $5,000 winner was Jile Tangishaka who was a Senior at Utah International Charter School. Jile was born in Burundi, West Africa. Because of the war in the area, his family was forced to flee to Tanzania and later came to the United States in 2012 as refugees. Soon after his family arrived in Utah, his father passed away due to kidney cancer. Before his father’s death, he promised him that he would look after his siblings. Jile realized that going to college was an important step in this pledge to his father. He wants to set a good example to his siblings, help take care of his family, pursue the American dream and make his father proud.
One year later, that’s just what Jile is doing. Brooke Boyd, the Intern at Sunnyvale Neighborhood Center said, “I’ve enjoyed watching Jile apply for and get accepted into college. Jile is in his second semester at Utah Valley University. He is also working as a Janitor at UVU. During his spare time, he likes to play soccer and do his homework. It has been great to see him continue to work toward his goal of college graduation.”
For more information about the Real Life Scholarship, please click here.