EB211 celebrates a decade of success with 28 college graduates

Excel Beyond 211 Dollars for Scholars, a nonprofit organization assisting first-generation college students, marked its 10th anniversary with a gathering that celebrated the success of 28 recent college graduates.

The event, held earlier this summer at Palatine High School, also featured more than $200,000 in scholarships awarded to EB211 scholars. EB211, which is affiliated with Dollars for Scholars as one of 455 chapters of Scholarship America, highlighted its decade of educational excellence with Board President Nancy Robb sharing the organization’s remarkable track record with its mentoring-based approach.

Among the highlights:

• Launched in 2014, EB211 started with 30 high school students and 30 mentors. Today, it has assisted 368 students from low-income families with support from 198 mentors.

• It offered five $1,000 scholarships in its first year, with help from 10 donors. In 2024, it awarded $209,000 in scholarships with help from 156 donors.

In 2014, EB211 didn’t offer support funds for books or other student fees and costs. Ten years later, it raised $15,500 in support funds and offered 41 named scholarships, including several four-year renewable awards.

• According to the Pell Institute for the Study of Higher Learning, national figures show only 11% of first-generation college students from low-income families earn a degree after six years. EB211’s success has exceeded those figures every year, and continues to grow with the help of its mentors. Among mentees who joined in 2018, 79% graduated in six years, and 10% of the 2018 scholars earned their degree in only three years.

The record-setting growth was possible, Robb noted, because of the hundreds of community volunteers and donors supporting EB211’s mission. All donations (100%) go directly to scholarships for the students.

“Nelson Mandela famously said, ‘Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world,’” Robb said. “I believe that as donors, mentors, students, parents and supporters, we are changing the world, and we are doing that in our community one student as a time.”

The keynote speaker for EB211’s Decade of Excellence celebration was Dr. Leah Romaine, a clinical professor, School of Education/Teaching and Learning at Loyola University Chicago, who also serves on EB211’s Advisory Board. Romaine’s father, Robert Ingraham, a longtime school psychologist at Palatine High School, was one of the founders of EB211 and a staunch supporter. Her father, Romaine said, was also a first-generation college student from a farm family with 11 children. The work ethic and sweat that he put into earning his degree, as well as his Ph.D, she said, inspired each of his three children to earn doctoral degrees.

“I watched my parents make sacrifices to ensure that my siblings and I had access to high-quality educational experiences. They made it clear that education was an opportunity not to be squandered, and that it was a privilege we were expected to pay forward.”

While Ingraham died in 2021 from brain cancer, his family continues his legacy by supporting EB211 with scholarships in his honor.

“EB211’s greatness is that we’re an organization of scholars for scholars,” Romaine said in acknowledging the countless hours of “sweat equity” that students, their families and EB211 volunteers have contributed over the last 10 years, both in and outside of the classroom.

“This is where I think we’ve gotten it right with EB211. Yes, we’re here to support students’ success in the classroom. But we also recognize and support the extensive learning and endless potential for growth that exists outside the classroom,” she added. “Supporting mentees and their ability to network, to identify internships, and to ultimately discern how they can best serve their communities during and after their undergraduate years helps to ensure that EB211’s impact extends not only to our mentees’ lives but to the lives of others they live, work and play with today and in the future.”

Two recent college graduates from Palatine also shared their college experience with EB211 families, mentors and donors attending the celebration.

Lilibeth Arreola, who was born and raised in Palatine as the youngest of eight children, shared her journey to earn a bachelor’s degree in architecture and a master’s degree in public policy and administration from the Illinois Institute of Technology. The strength and support of her family and EB211 mentor Lilia Ramirez helped her deal with the tragic death of her father, who died from COVID-19 during her first week of college in 2021. She spoke to the scholars about the importance of kindness, and the fearless strength she drew from her father.

“I’m extremely lucky to be part of a community that has shown me such kindness,” she said. “Life is so much easier and your college experience so much better when you find yourself being kind to others and find those who are kind to you.”

Valery Lopez, who earned a double major in political science/French at Grinnell College in Iowa, told EB211 scholars to be prepared for their educational journey to take them to places they never expected. Lopez traveled to Stanford (Public Policy boot camp), the University of Michigan (fellowship) and France (English TA abroad) while earning her degree, and now she’ll start the school year in Colombia teaching English on a Fulbright Grant. She sees either law school or a master’s in public policy in her future as well. She credits her family as well as EB211 mentor Noreen MacDonald with helping her navigate her career path.

“Since high school, it has taken a village for me to become a college graduate,” Lopez said. “My village was my parents, my sisters, my mentor, my college professors. If there is one piece of advice I can share with students today, it’s to build your village, connect with your mentor, lean on your family and reach out for help because you’re probably not the only one overwhelmed or confused.”

Mike Nylund, president and CEO of Scholarship America, praised all the volunteers, families and students for going the extra mile.

“You haven’t just provided scholarship dollars, you’ve invested in their futures, provided opportunities for networking and mentoring, ensuring they have the skills they need to succeed,” Nylund said, adding he also was very impressed by the number of graduates who have become mentors. “They (mentees) know their community has their back, and they will come back and become mentors,” he said. “That is how this becomes a generational success.”

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