Group wants to expand MLK scholarships

The memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is making the college experience for several DuPage County students a little more affordable.

Organizers of the county's annual birthday celebration honoring the slain civil rights leader have awarded 10 scholarships to area students during the past two years.

Now leaders want to create scholarships at all 36 DuPage high schools in five years.

"The basic gist and heart of our scholarship committee is to help (students) in their college education and continue the legacy of Dr. King," said Rev. Andre Allen, pastor at Wheaton's Second Baptist Church and chairman of the scholarship committee. "We believe the more people we can get to embrace the dream of Dr. King and seek to make that dream a reality, the more we'll all be the better for it."

Two years ago, faced with the enviable situation of having leftover sponsorship dollars from the celebration event, Allen created the scholarship program. Two college-bound seniors, one from Wheaton North and one from Wheaton Warrenville South, were awarded a $500 scholarship.

Last year, eight students received scholarships. That included a $2,500 scholarship then-Neuqua Valley High School senior Marion Steinberg received. That scholarship was awarded to a member of the church's congregation and supplemented with a $2,000 donation from Community Bank in honor of the church's 100th anniversary, Allen said.

Steinberg is now a freshman at the University of Alabama.

"The scholarship was very helpful in terms of covering the balance of my tuition and allowing me to have other opportunities while studying here," Steinberg said. "The money I saved through this scholarship helped me pay my dues to organizations and clubs on campus."

Though the scholarship is not recurring, Allen said the committee would discuss advances in the award formula once a scholarship was made available at all the schools.

"We'll take that up eventually," he said. "Obviously, the more that we can give and the longer we can give it, the better it is for the students."

While most recipients are excellent students, and some may even participate in athletics, the criteria for selecting the students is mainly based on their social activism.

"This is a very nice way to recognize students who were promoting values that the organization itself is promoting," said Trudy Rigney, a scholarship coordinator at St. Francis Catholic High School in Wheaton. "There are some scholarships out there like this, but probably not enough."

Most academic scholarships are awarded by the state, athletic scholarships are often awarded by schools and scholarships based on social work are usually given by nonprofit organizations and amount to much less than the more common academic and athletic scholarships, state financial aid officials said.

"We see these scholarships as seeds, and we're hoping to spread this in a wide net that will encourage many people who ought to embody what the future of our country will be," said DuPage County Circuit Court Judge Robert Anderson, who serves as the committee's vice chairman. "We want these people to do the right thing, for all the right reasons, in all situations in life and stand up when people aren't doing the right things and say something about it."

The committee sets the criteria for picking students, but a committee comprising school officials actually picks the recipient.

"We thought the best way to do it was ask the school to pick somebody because they know their students better," Anderson said.

There are also no racial restrictions on the scholarships either.

"We never put that stipulation as one of our criteria," Allen said. "Basically, the idea was to encourage and affirm any student who is carrying on the legacy and walking in those steps and seeking social justice."

Steinberg, who is African-American, said she agrees with committee's decision to open up the scholarship to any student.

"It's a great benefit," she said. "I think it should be open to anyone regardless of race, religion or color."

Allen said he hoped the committee could provide scholarships to 10 high schools this year, possibly more.

"But that depends on the level of giving," he said. "Besides sponsorship we collect at the celebration."

This year's program begins at 6:30 p.m. today at the Edman Chapel at Wheaton College, at 401 E. Franklin St.

By the numbers

A look at how many DuPage County high schools will benefit from a scholarship program honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

26:Public high schools

5: Catholic secondary schools

3: Christian-affiliated high schools

2: Islam-affiliated high schools