First Generation College Bound

Newsletters

jmurchison — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:16:45 +0000

Summer 2011 Newsletter

Spring 2011 Newsletter

2011 Riverfest 5K Results

jmurchison — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 16:39:28 +0000

The following are award winners, by category, in the 8th annual First Generation College Bound Riverfest 5K Race on Oct. 1, 2011 in Laurel, Md. Below are all runners, with places and times.

Category		Name	HomeTown	Age	Time

Overall Male
	1	Allen, Brian	Laurel, MD	22	17:44.55
	2	Pettit, Brian	Newark, DE	23	18:57.67
	3	Thomas, Ben	Columbia, MD	23	19:09.37
Overall Female
	1	Laseter, Elizabeth	Washington, DC	23	20:24.20
	2	Radcliffe, Rebecca	Warham, NC	19	22:58.21
	3	Rayfield, Kristen	Marietta, GA	19	22:59.09
Masters Male
	1	Fisher, Joseph	Laurel, MD	58	21:28.31
	2	Kirk-Davidoff, Daniel	Columbia, MD	43	21:31.31
	3	Williams, Patrick	Silver Spring, MD	51	22:38.74
Masters Female
	1	Manney, Edith	Columbia, MD	40	28:38.14
	2	Hennes, Kathy	Annapolis, MD	59	28:47.58
	3	Kirk-Davidoff, Heather	Columbia, MD	44	31:23.46
1-13 Male
	1	Bryant, Gerald	Odenton, MD	10	30:30.08
	2	Bedarel, Cameron	Vashon, WA	9	32:17.63
1-13 Female
	1	Kirk-Davidoff, Rosa	Columbia, MD	12	30:58.09
14-19 Female
	1	Mayfield, Camelia	Ashland, OR	19	23:00.62
20-29 Male
	1	Roberts, Andrew	Silver Spring, MD	25	31:33.39
20-29 Female
	1	Sacker, Katie	Catonsville, MD	21	22:59.45
30-39 Male
	1	Foulds, Lance	Laurel, MD	38	27:45.74
30-39 Female
	1	Speight, Mia	Randallstown, MD	30	26:52.44
40-49 Male
	1	Simu, Frank	Laurel, MD	42	28:14.35
40-49 Female
	1	Arbogast, Cynthia	Laurel, MD	47	32:10.53
50-59 Male
	1	Arbelaez, Bill	Columbia, MD	54	22:43.84
50-59 Female
	1	Sacker, Mary Jane	Catonsville, MD	55	31:51.75
60-99 Female
	1	Fisher, Pat	Laurel, MD	63	32:33.84
60-99 Male
	1	Murchison, Joe	Laurel, MD	60	27:38.80

Place	Name	HomeTown	Sex, Age	Time
1	Allen, Brian	Laurel, MD	M22	17:44.55
2	Pettit, Brian	Newark, DE	M23	18:57.67
3	Thomas, Ben	Columbia, MD	M23	19:09.37
4	Laseter, Elizabeth	Washington, DC	F23	20:24.20
5	Fisher, Joseph	Laurel, MD	M58	21:28.31
6	Kirk-Davidoff, Daniel	Columbia, MD	M43	21:31.31
7	Williams, Patrick	Silver Spring, MD	M51	22:38.74
8	Arbelaez, Bill	Columbia, MD	M54	22:43.84
9	Radcliffe, Rebecca	Warham, NC	F19	22:58.21
10	Rayfield, Kristen	Marietta, GA	F19	22:59.09
11	Sacker, Katie	Catonsville, MD	F21	22:59.45
12	Mayfield, Camelia	Ashland, OR	F19	23:00.62
13	Eckberg, Keely	Holmdel, NJ	F20	23:05.54
14	Wurzer, John	Ellicott City, MD	M50	23:25.27
15	Dolan, Corrine	Pittsfield, NH	F17	23:37.81
16	Needham, Emma	Wenham, MA	F18	24:02.32
17	Brinton, John	Laurel, MD	M51	26:37.68
18	Speight, Mia	Randallstown, MD	F30	26:52.44
19	Murchison, Joe	Laurel, MD	M60	27:38.80
20	Foulds, Lance	Laurel, MD	M38	27:45.74
21	Entzminger, Michael	Rockville, MD	M31	28:08.57
22	Aura-Entzminger, Allison	Rockville, MD	F29	28:08.93
23	Simu, Frank	Laurel, MD	M42	28:14.35
24	Hwu, Tim	Columbia, MD	M33	28:15.14
25	Chien, Anna	Columbia, MD	F32	28:23.68
26	Manney, Edith	Columbia, MD	F40	28:38.14
27	Hennes, Kathy L	Annapolis, MD	F59	28:47.58
28	Watson, Don	Laurel, MD	M51	28:54.83
29	Plummer, Melissa	Columbia, MD	F34	28:56.75
30	White, Ken	Silver Spring, MD	M52	29:00.96
31	Hintz, Shelley	Laurel, MD	F30	29:58.12
32	Hintz, John	Laurel, MD	M30	30:03.99
33	Bryant, Gerald	Odenton, MD	M10	30:30.08
34	Pittmon, George	Laurel, MD	M45	30:35.09
35	Kirk-Davidoff, Rosa	Columbia, MD	F12	30:58.09
36	Bedard, Duane	Vashon, WA	M48	31:07.61
37	Shirazy, Khadija	University Park, MD	F24	31:14.26
38	Washington, Dennis	Kettering, MD	M34	31:19.31
39	Kirk-Davidoff, Heather	Columbia, MD	F44	31:23.46
40	Doxzen, Kevin	Ellicott City, MD	M56	31:32.75
41	Doxzen, Erica	Rockville, MD	F27	31:33.06
42	Roberts, Andrew	Silver Spring, MD	M25	31:33.39
43	Heffner, Lee	Laurel, MD	M31	31:33.81
44	Sacker, Mary Jane F	Catonsville, MD	F55	31:51.75
45	Rally, Grace	Spring Lake, NJ	F19	31:52.54
46	Marth, James	Laurel, MD	M65	32:01.41
47	Sheppard, Doreen	Ellicott City, MD	F51	32:10.11
48	Arbogast, Cynthia	Laurel, MD	F47	32:10.53
49	Bedarel, Cameron	Vashon, WA	M9	32:17.63
50	Hall, Brandon	Laurel, MD	M27	32:19.59
51	Fisher, Pat	Laurel, MD	F63	32:33.84
52	Simmons, Angela	Annapolis Jct, MD	F34	32:57.14
53	Kinley, Gwynne	Hyattsville, MD	F42	33:18.14
54	Mills, Alyssa	Laurel, MD	F0	34:33.54
55	Mills, Andrea	Crofton, MD	F23	34:53.91
56	Hyder-Adam, Munira	University Park, MD	F34	35:21.07
57	Jeffers, Rich	Laurel, MD	M47	35:53.01
58	Ogundiyun, Mayowa	triangle, VA	F33	36:27.18
59	Owolabi, Deborah	Boyds, MD	F31	38:47.32
60	Keefe, Alison	Laurel, MD	F51	41:50.48
61	Scalco, Dora	Laurel, MD	F47	41:53.90
62	Cross, Jamila	Odenton, MD	F10	42:52.67
63	Collier, Deborah	Laurel, MD	F40	43:12.75

Students Testify

jmurchison — Tue, 03 May 2011 17:56:39 +0000

Testifying at a Prince George's County Council public hearing were, from left, Joseph Fisher, Paige Telesford, Jasmine Knight, Charmaine Wilson-Jones, Shavon Harding, Matthew Solano and Bi Bi Solano.

Eight First Generation College Bound students and parents joined Executive Director Joseph Fisher in testifying before the Prince George’s County Council on April 26, 2011.

The council was holding a public hearing on how to use its federal 2012 Housing and Community Development Block Grant funds. FGCB has received block grant funding for its Homework Club and College Access programs for more than a decade.

Testifying to the value of FGCB’s programs were high school students Tionna Jacobs (Central High), Matthew Solano (Laurel High), Paige Telesford (Central High), Charmaine Wilson-Jones (Parkdale) and Jasmine Knight (Eleanor Roosevelt). Jasmine has been in FGCB programs since elementary school, when she joined the Kimberly Gardens Homework Club. Others testifying were FGCB alumna Shavon Harding, who graduated from Towson University in 2006; and parents Teresa Smalls and Bi Bi Solano.

Archives

jmurchison — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 17:55:01 +0000

April 2010

Is Your Child Serious About College?

Is your child serious about college? Many kids tell their parents they’re going to college, but are they really taking the steps to get there? And are they putting themselves in a position to earn scholarship money to pay for it?

Most first-generation college applicants don’t have money saved up to go to college. If the students do well academically, that really helps. There are colleges across the country that offer merit-based scholarships to students earning at least a 3.0 grade-point average and an SAT test score of 1,000 or higher. Many students think an athletic scholarship is their best shot at getting money for college. This is a misconception. Many more students get accepted to college and receive scholarships because of their grades than because of their accomplishments in sports.

As for the SAT, to score well on this test – which most four-year colleges require for admission – students need to take the PSAT (a practice test for the SAT) in their 9^th-grade year and should begin taking the SAT their 10^th-grade year. However, many first-generation students wait until their senior year to take the SAT due to a fear of being unprepared or because they don’t make it a priority.

Waiting till senior year is a big mistake. If the students get a low score, they may have no time left to take the SAT again and improve. Also, they may lose confidence and begin to think they’re not college ready.

When students take the SAT in their 10^th-grade year, they may get a low score. But chances are, as they develop more familiarity with the test, the students will improve their scores significantly in their junior and senior years.

One of our FGCB participants earned a 2.5 GPA his 10^th-grade year and got a 840 on his SAT. There are colleges that would accept him with that record. But the great thing is that he now has two more years to improve both his grades and his SAT, so that he can win an academic scholarship and have more college admission options.

It is important to note that the SAT does reflect the student’s academic profile, especially in math and reading. The score reflects the level of math the student has taken – I recommend that students take algebra 2/trigonometry or higher – and whether the student is an avid reader or writer. A website of the University System of Maryland, www.Way2GoMaryland.org, provides good overall information about the type of courses your child should take in high school.

Parents, you can help your children get serious about college. Encourage them to strive for a B average or better. Research with your children the deadlines to register for the SAT, and help them sign up starting in the spring of their 10^th-grade year. You can find the deadlines online at the College Board website, www.collegeboard.com.

Finally, give your child a reality check. Have your child write a letter to the admissions office of one or more colleges. Because of cost, include one or more state colleges when requesting the schools’ admissions requirements. Or have the child find the requirements on the colleges’ websites. This will reinforce your conversations about college and your child’s attitude about attending college.

Parents, it is important that you stay involved and informed on the college-bound process. Getting into college needs to be a partnership between you and your child. In my next message, I will provide information concerning financial aid.

Joseph Fisher

August 2009

Persevering over the Long Haul

Welcome to this new feature of our newly redesigned website.

Twenty years ago, I created First Generation College Bound based on my personal experience in my community and beyond. I grew up in public housing in Southeast D.C., and didn’t plan to go to college. Fortunately, important influences turned me around.

My dad and mom hadn’t graduated from high school, but they valued education. (My mother earned her high school diploma at the age of 52.) My mother also kept us actively involved in church, and in after-school and community programs that helped provide spiritual development and needed structure. Dad exemplified the value of providing for the family. My older siblings were role models as well. Brothers Johnathan and John, Jr. worked hard and succeeded in the military, and now one has a bachelor’s degree while the other has a Ph.D. in divinity. Sisters Joan and Judith were good students who impressed me by speaking French fluently beginning in junior high school. Even today I am amazed at their ability at that time. Outside the family, my high school track coach, Hubert Gates, was a tremendous influence, urging me to attend college.

Like me in my earlier years, there are many students who feel that they do not have potential to attend college due to the challenges they face at home, at school and in their community. I started FGCB to give these students a second chance – to offer them support and encouragement and make them aware that resources do exist to help them realize that they can continue their education beyond high school if they desire. The fire and passion of that vision continues in me to support their college-bound dream.

I started the program at Kimberly Gardens in Laurel, Maryland, where I made a long-term commitment to the community. Kimberly Gardens continues to be the nucleus of our program. It keeps me grounded in my original mission when I see low- and moderate-income students from this community graduate from high school and head off to college. At a time when many educational support programs last only four to six years, I’m gratified to have honored my commitment to Kimberly Gardens residents to stick with them over the long haul. This year’s college-bound senior from Kimberly Gardens, one of 100 FGCB students, will be attending McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland.

I’m also excited about the continual expansion of the FGCB program, which now entails many communities and three high schools. And I am grateful to our partners and supporters, who have enabled this growth with their time and money and have set the stage for even greater things in the future. And it would be difficult for me to close this letter without thanking my wife, Pat, for her ongoing encouragement and support of my vision, First Generation College Bound.

Welcome to our new website. I look forward to sharing my thoughts each month on how we can continue to make students’ college-bound dreams come true.

Joseph Fisher

2010 Riverfest 5K Race Results

jmurchison — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:04:21 +0000

*Finish*	*Name*	*City*	*Sex, Age*	*Time*
1	Allen, Brian	Laurel, MD	M21	17:17.60
2	Degenhardt, Sheldon	Marriottsville, MD	M45	18:09.40
3	Pettit, Brian	Laurel, MD	M22	18:21.04
4	Sweet, Jay	Laurel, MD	M49	18:53.69
5	Gunter, Jeff	Silver Spring, MD	M41	19:50.65
6	Way, Shannon	Hyattsville, MD	M39	20:25.50
7	Mayfield, Camelia	Ashland, OR	F18	20:51.23
8	Tomsic, Louis	Honolulu, HI	M44	21:46.65
9	Fisher, Joseph	Laurel, Md	M57	22:08.88
10	Mason, Michael	Spencerville, MD	M54	22:11.14
11	Conyngham, Jesse	Ellicott City, MD	M27	22:25.39
12	Shapiro, Lou	Silver Spring, MD	M69	23:02.61
13	Cronan, Madeleine	Denver, CO	F21	23:10.70
14	Kinley, Laura	Jefferson, MD	F19	23:17.34
15	Sacker, Katie	Catonsville, MD	F20	23:19.30
16	Demaree, Marsha	Marriottsville, MD	F45	23:34.15
17	Carr, Jacob	Laurel, MD	M11	24:17.96
18	Crawford, Kathryn	Hummelstown, PA	F19	24:18.45
19	Breen, Jessica	Washington, DC	F18	24:19.54
20	Carr, Matthew	Laurel, MD	M47	24:20.25
21	Eckberg, Keely	Holmdel, NJ	F19	24:22.54
22	Kearney, Nancy	Laurel, MD	F46	24:25.89
23	Adair, Lamont	Fairmont Heights, MD	M16	24:42.54
24	Lima, Jonas	Beltsville, MD	M45	25:02.73
25	Dalgleish, Jamie	Upperco, MD	F19	25:18.65
26	Rayfield, Kristen	Washington, DC	F18	26:03.68
27	McQuinn, Katherine	Mission Viejo, CA	F17	26:04.54
28	Costanbader, Susan	Laurel, MD	F46	26:29.24
29	Brinton, John	Laurel, MD	M50	27:35.76
30	Barnes, Ben	College Park, MD	M35	28:15.25
31	Gunter, Naomi	Silver Spring, MD	F29	28:19.10
32	Jackson, Urainia	Fairmont Heights, MD	F26	28:19.33
33	Short, Jeff	Fort Meade, MD	M51	28:21.18
34	Carr, Joshua	Laurel, MD	M23	28:28.38
35	Hicks, Shakira	Laurel, MD	F24	28:57.55
36	McDowell, Donald	Ellicott City, MD	M50	29:06.03
37	McDowell, Kaitlyn	Charlottesville, VA	F20	29:06.26
38	Hennes, Kathy	Annapolis, MD	F58	29:47.40
39	DeReamer, Phoebe	Upperco, MD	F19	30:02.89
40	Davis, Deborah	Silver Spring, MD	F54	30:04.87
41	Kim, Young	Laurel, MD	M42	30:39.88
42	Lacy, Brooke	College Park, MD	F26	30:59.49
43	Taylor, Ali	Newton, NJ	F18	31:03.71
44	Savoy, Elliott	Laurel, MD	M39	32.37.54
45	Davis, Gregg	Silver Spring, MD	M48	32:38.44
46	Fisher, Pat	Laurel, MD	F62	33:43.54
47	Dalgleish, Kathleen	Upperco, MD	F51	33:49.10
48	Bland, Laurinda	Randallstown, MD	F40	34:17.20
49	Carr, Bonnie	Laurel, MD	F31	34:24.23
50	Quinn, Carrie	Washington, DC	F31	36:33.88
51	Reese, Angel	Randallstown, MD	F39	37:52.53
52	Turner, Kahli	Glenn Dale, MD	F39	37:57.73
53	Irving Dasent, Cydney	Philadelphia, PA	F35	37:58.23
54	Wilson, Rick	Laurel, MD	M53	38:43.65
55	Dixon, Janet	Washington, DC	F47	45:31.87

Race winner Brian Allen poses with FGCB's founder and CEO, Joe Fisher. Allen's time was 17:17.60.

Top woman finisher Camelia Mayfield is congratulated by Joe Fisher.

The race winds through the Historic District of Laurel, Md. The runner in center is Fairmont Heights High School student Lamont Adair.

Joe Fisher talks to the runners before the start.

FGCB Homework Club students and teachers came and cheered on race day.

Runners, supporters and helpers gather at Riverfront Park in Laurel for the race.

Thanks to sponsors

FGCB thanks the following generous sponsors of the 2010 Riverfest 5K:

ASICS
Baltimore/Washington Corridor Chamber Foundation
Berman Enterprises
Bormel, Grice & Huyett, PA
John & Lesley Brinton
City of Laurel
Catholic University Cross Country Track and Field
Joyce Conyngham
DJ’s Auto Specialists
Einstein Bagels
Feet First Sports
Andrew & Kathleen Flott
GDR Group
Giant
Laurel Board of Trade
Laurel Fraternal Order of Police
Laurel Leader
Laurel Police Department
The Magnificent Body
Beth Mazin
Colleen Mazin
McGowan & Cecil, LLC
Modell’s Sporting Goods
Optimal Care Chiropractic
Revere Bank
RPG Digital Print Solutions
Safeway
Security Vault Works
Sherene Sedgwick
Target
Loretta Thompson
Tranzitionz Ma’at Holistic Wellness Center
C. Michael Walls

Current Message

admin — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 18:50:11 +0000

Admission Can Bring Tough Decisions

“My child has been accepted to college and we are all excited. I have shared the news with relatives, friends, co-workers and many others. However, we just received the financial aid package and I can’t afford the cost for my child to attend. I do not want to disappoint my daughter, so what do I do?”

Here is what parents in this frequent situation can do. First, they need to review their financial situation and then share it with their child. Parents are passionate about their son or daughter attending college, but perhaps can’t afford a loan of $10,000 or more each year. Their child needs to hear this.

Second, dream colleges aren’t the only colleges. A college that is affordable and meets a child’s needs for success can be a better choice. I recall a student who attended a second-choice college because he was not accepted at (and could not afford) his first choice. He did well and attended the first-choice college for graduate school with tuition assistance from his job.

At this college-bound season of excitement and challenges, parents should:

Let their son or daughter know of their excitement over any college acceptances. Hopefully, it is more than one college, and includes a community college
Wait for the financial packages from all the colleges to review affordability, then discuss this with their child. The child may not like the conversation, but the parent has to be realistic and upfront. Most students think parents have endless pockets, especially after listening to their peers.
Once the award packages come, parents should review them and make the best decision based on affordability and chance for student success. The parents should include other awards in the calculation only after confirming them. Most colleges give until May 1 to make a decision (committing after that date puts a student in jeopardy of not getting a room on campus).
If parents find that the cost of a four-year college too expensive, they should set their pride aside and have their child attend a community college. Some community colleges have relationships with four-year colleges that assure tuition discounts to students who finish two years with a 3-plus average.
Parents should stay excited and optimistic about their child’s college-bound future. They should not worry about what others say, but rather stay grounded in the reality of their situations and what they can afford, especially in this challenging economic time. Their child will do the rest with their support and encouragement.

Joseph Fisher

Joseph Fisher, CEO & Founder

Annual Celebration

admin — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:37:18 +0000

Harold Jimenez, Kelvena Beynum, Nathalie Polanco, Essi Aziakonou, Benjamin Mbou and Kafui Atsome celebrate their high school graduation and college-bound plans at FGCB's 21st Annual Celebration on June 15, 2011.

First Generation College Bound will hold its 22nd Annual Celebration on June 20, 2012 at the Samuel IV Riggs Alumni Center at the University of Maryland in College Park. The festive event will honor high school and college graduates and recipients of graduate degrees who have come out of the FGCB program. Hors d’oeuvres will be served at 5:30 p.m., and the celebration program will begin at 7 p.m. For more information, call 301-490-0911 or email nconyngham@fgcb.org.

The 21st Annual Celebration, occurring on June 15, 2011, honored 121 college-bound graduates of five high schools, as well as 58 students who just had earned college or other higher-education degrees.

The celebration took place at the Marriott Inn and Conference Center of the University of Maryland University College.

Attorney Raemond Parrott

A highlight was a talk by Raemond Parrott, who this year became FGCB’s first law school graduate, completing his J.D. degree at Duke University. Raemond met FGCB founder Joe Fisher in sixth grade. Fisher became a mentor, helping Raemond learn to differentiate what was “considered cool” and what was “right.” He guided Raemond and his mother through the college application process and, with Fisher’s help, Raemond was admitted to one of the top undergraduate schools in the country, Williams College. After graduating from there, he headed on to Duke. Raemond gave the following advice to college-bound students in his Annual Celebration talk:

“When I was a kid, my mother used to say life did not come with an instruction manual and there was no road map. I had to wing it and make decisions along the way.

“That’s actually false, because it’s 2011 now and, even though there is no road map, there is a GPS. And that GPS is right here in your brain. So in the same way you set your destination and it tells you ‘right turn, left turn, get off at this exit,’ when you arrive in college or graduate school – or wherever you’re headed – you’ve got to put that destination of where you want to be 10, 15, 20 years from now into that mental GPS. That way you take the right turns along the way.

“When you’re doing something you’re not supposed to be doing, that’s not conducive to getting where you need to go, you need to have that GPS go off and say, ‘toot, toot, toot, toot, toot, wrong turn, recalculate.’ When it’s 2 a.m. and your friend wants you to party but you’ve got that 8:30 class, you’ve got to listen to that GPS and realize that’s the wrong direction.

“You’re going to make mistakes – we all make mistakes – but all that does is make the distance you have to travel longer, and it makes it harder to get there. You may not get there as fast as everyone else. Some people take four years. Some people take five, six or seven years. But that’s all right, because the cars that speed past you, they’re not going to where you’re going. You have your own set destination, and that’s the destination you need to keep your eye on.

“So when people in school offer you alcohol, or drugs, or unprotected sex or anything else out there, make sure that GPS goes, ‘Toot, toot, toot, toot, toot, toot, wrong turn.’”

County Executive Keynote Speaker

Prince George's County Executive Rushern Baker

The keynote speaker at the Annual Celebration was Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker. He recalled his experience as a first-generation college student:

“I too was the first in my family to go to college and to finish college. By chance I had an aunt who had graduated from college. Since there was no First Generation College Bound when I was growing up, she came and helped me fill out my applications, fill out my forms, told me about scholarships. And she told me, ‘You need to apply to three colleges; you can apply to three colleges for free.’ I was like, ‘Free? Wow! Dad’s going to like that!’

“So I applied to the University of Hawaii. I applied to the University of Massachusetts. And I had a friend who was applying to Howard University. I was living in Springfield, Massachusetts. The African American population at that time was about 10 percent. I had never met a black lawyer. We knew the black dentist and the black doctor. They had all gone to Howard University. So that clearly was out of my league; I wasn’t getting into there. But as a fluke I’m going to apply.

“By luck – and I do mean luck – by God and by faith, I got into Howard University. It allowed me the opportunity to do something, not only that no one in my family had ever done before, but it allowed me to open a door that I didn’t think was available to me. I was a student who always struggled with reading, a student who was always two years older than his peers, because I stayed back in the first and second grades. So the shock on everyone in my family’s face when I got into Howard University, and the pride that I felt, and the nervousness that I felt as to whether, in fact, I had what it took to compete with others.

“There was not a more nervous student coming to Howard University. But it opened my eyes to things that I never knew I could accomplish or do. It gave me an opportunity to meet friends that are friends today. It allowed me to run for student government and see that I, too, could live out, not my dream, or my dad’s dream, or my mom’s dream, but the dream of people who had dedicated their lives to providing programs just like this – that it allowed them to touch into the future and to see what could happen when you open up those doors, when you’re willing to take a chance on individuals, what they can do.

“I am so pleased and happy that you, the graduates of 2011, your parents, your supporters, First Generation College Bound, have allowed a county executive who sometimes feels beat up, who walked into here feeling weary after spending a day in Upper Marlboro struggling over legislation and what we will do – I want to thank you for reminding me of why we do all of this, and more importantly, what the future looks like.”

Donors Sponsoring the 2011 Celebration

Baltimore/Washington Corridor Chamber Foundation
Bobby and Evelyn Barnes
John and Lesley Brinton
Janelle Bryant – Global Strategies, LLC
Evon Ervin
Jerome A. Fisher
Kenneth Garrison
Ronald and Ellen Giles
Raymond Harrod
Elizabeth Anne Helm-Frazier
Dwayne Jones, principal, Laurel High School
Latin Image Salon
Laurel Presbyterian Church
Robert and Lorraine Levan
John and Effie Macklin Charitable Fund
Sandra T. McKinney
Minuteman Press Laurel
Elaine Morse
Joseph and Marilyn Murchison
Frances and Norman Saunders
Ibi and Felicia Ojo
Ronald S. Oser, M.D. – Laurel Eye Physicians
Pam Rockland
Nickole Sedgwick
Bryan Smith
Marcie Oser Wertlieb, M.D. – Laurel Eye Physicians

High school and college graduates gather around ABC7/WJLA-TV news anchor Leon Harris, Annual Celebration keynote speaker in 2010

Annual Celebration Tradition

Each June, FGCB holds a similar Annual Celebration to honor its high school graduates about to enter college and its former FGCB participants who have just earned a bachelor’s or graduate degree from a college or university. This highlight of the year has featured such speakers and emcees as former University of Maryland basketball star Len Elmore, Prince George’s State’s Attorneys Alexander Williams and Glenn Ivey, nationally prominent defense attorney Willie Gary, award-winning ABC7/WJLA-TV news anchor Leon Harris and actor Tico Wells, as well as FGCB alumni.