Race to Equity scholarship recipients discuss inequality and goals

As high school students in Madison are finalizing their college applications, many students are also asking the bigger question: how will I pay for college?

The high cost of higher education is well documented, and Madison-based programs like the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families’ Race to Equity project are working to address the educational opportunity disparities for communities of color in Dane County. WCCF recently awarded the Race to Equity Scholarship to three high school students graduating from Dane County in the spring of 2016.

Francine WhiteThrough the Race to Equity Scholarship, Guadalupe Montes Tecalero and Francine White of James Madison Memorial High School and Ari Davis of Madison West High School received one-time scholarships to help with higher education funding. Montes Tecalero won $1,000 and White and Davis both received $500.

Francine White, a senior at Memorial High School, is a Mann Scholar, co-vice president of the black student union at her school and a Link Crew mentor for incoming freshman. White learned about the Race to Equity Scholarship from the Mann Scholars coordinator and from the multicultural services counselor at her school. White hopes to go to Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi.

"I'm really interested in the whole historically-black-college thing," White said, saying she also toured the campus on her junior year spring break with her black student union.

She also applied to UW-Milwaukee and a few other schools with plans to either study business or law, perhaps pursuing a career in corporate law to combine both interests.

Like White, Ari Davis also is interested in attending a historically black college, in his case Morgan State University in Baltimore. White and Davis are both applying to UW-Milwaukee, but Davis hopes to land a basketball scholarship to further assist in paying for education and is currently being recruited by schools.

"If I go to UW-Milwaukee, I'm really interested in majoring in African American Studies and Communication, just so I could do something I'm really passionate about and possibly start a career in consulting around the nation," Davis said of his long-term goals. "I want to close the achievement gap and I want to make racial equity a focus around the area and ultimately around the country."

Students who applied to the scholarship were asked to submit personal essays responding to the question, "What does racial equity mean to me?" For her essay, White said she did research on statistics of African Americans in prison, in higher education and in schools as evidence of racial disparities in America. Speaking to her own experience as Mann scholar, White discussed the way minorities "have barriers that other students may not have." 

"It was basically just 'this is real' and it's unfortunate that it's a real thing ... but at least there are things that are trying to help get past these kinds of barriers," White said.

Ari DavisAs a student in AP classes in her school, White also said she believes more outreach work needs to be done encouraging students to take AP classes and for them to be treated equally once they are in the classroom.

Davis also echoed the importance of ensuring students of color are motivated and respected in their high school academics. Davis said he tries to serve as a leader for the Madison community and encourage fellow students.

"I try to get kids that I see not going to class, I try to get them in class as much as possible if I see them around. Just because I know what it's like to be feeling down, but at the same time, you can't waste a free education," Davis said.

A senior at Madison West High School, Davis is involved in the black student union at his school as well and serves as the co-captain of his basketball team. Davis was also awarded the Rotary Leadership Award from his counselor for exemplifying strong leadership. 

Davis learned about the scholarship from his parents, who he says serve as a strong support system and raised him with a "really strong and confident background within my race."

Guadalupe Montes Tecalero declined to comment, but WCCF Communication and Policy Associate Wenona Wolf spoke to how she was move by all three winners and all the applicants' essays.

"There's a number of kids here working to overcome disparities at such a young age, which is amazing to see," Wolf said.

Race to Equity presented the awards to the students at the WCCF’s “Step Forward for Kids” event earlier this fall, where each of the recipients spoke about racial inequality.

"Every student that we selected for this award does an amazing job of coming up and sharing their story, which is super courageous of them," Wolf said. "And I think it's an interesting way non-profits, political leaders, philanthropists and our partners that are at the event to get to hear how disparities really affect kids in our community."