TOWSON, MD. – Parkville High School senior Zahara Kazmi has been named one of only 303 national Dell Scholars among the class of 2013. The honor includes a $20,000 college scholarship along with mentoring, computer technology, a summer orientation, an online community for mentoring and peer interaction and other support.
Funded by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the program serves students who have completed approved college readiness programs. Kazmi successfully completed the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program that is available in 22 Baltimore County Public Schools high schools and eight BCPS middle schools. This year, 98.8 percent of the school system’s 428 AVID graduating seniors were accepted into four-year colleges, and they have reported earning (to date) $15.4 million in scholarship awards.
Most Dell Scholars are the first in their families to attend college and are from economically disadvantaged communities and/or communities of color. While low-income and underserved students usually have only a 19 percent college graduation rate, the rate for Dell Scholars, according to the foundation, is 80 percent. Now in its 10th year, the Dell Scholars Program has invested a total of $55 million in 2,548 students.
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