GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – On Thursday night, local students earned thousands of dollars worth of scholarships to make their college dreams come true.
A Green Bay nonprofit called ‘College Ready’ presented more than $464,000 worth of scholarships. Kids can apply for these scholarships or take part in the nonprofits college readiness programs to earn scholarships.
“It’s so gratifying to see the look on their face and they’re so proud, what’s even more important is how proud their families are of them,” said ‘College Ready’ executive director Brent Roubal.
Wonder what people with lots of money buy on Prime Day? Here are big-ticket top sellers
Many of the kids who participate in the college readiness programs are first generation college students including Alejandro Quintero from Green Bay. He told Local 5 News that he’s going to University of Wisconsin-Platteville and will major in mechanical engineering.
“It helped me grow my skills even further than what I could have done by myself,” he said about his experience with the college readiness programs. “Without it I would have been confused and clueless with what colleges to look for.”
Erick Brito is another first-generation college student who earned scholarship money on Thursday night, He said his dream is to become a dentist.
“At the beginning I was really unsure how I was going to do it (get into college), but thanks to College Ready I was able to complete that goal and achieve what I wanted,” he said.
Brewers starter Nestor Cortes shines in rehab start with Timber Rattlers
Students received scholarship money ranging from $1,000 to $6,000 based on merit and need. They didn’t know the exact amount of their scholarship until they opened an envelope on Thursday night.
There was also a ceremony where officials welcomed in middle school students that are just entering the college readiness programs.