By Howard Koplowitz
Cordell Davis, 17, from Holy Cross High School, was awarded $1,500 by the group for writing his first-place essay. Davis has a 3.7 GPA, is a member of his school's varsity football and basketball teams, and works three days a week after school at Reap and Keep Education Services, a non-profit organization in Jamaica, where he offers homework help as well as tutoring to other students. He will be attending Iona College after graduation and plans to major in finance.”It's gonna be good to help my parents with tuition…,” Davis said after the meeting adjourned.”Just to have him willing to serve in the community is a good thing and I'm proud of him,” said his mother, Doris Davis.A $1,000 scholarship was given to Fabio Streets, the second-place recipient. Streets attends Christ the King High School in Middle Village, where he helps out with the art club and tutors other students. He also interns for U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-St. Albans), where he does data entry and helps out constituents.”I've been there for about a year. They keep me busy. There's a good rapport there,” Streets said of his internship experience.Streets said he found out about the scholarship by searching the Internet and through his mother, who is involved with the civic group. He will attend St. John's University, where he is thinking of a double major in law and computer science.Chante Perdue received a $500 award for third-place. She attends Hempstead High School where she volunteers as an assistant to the guidance counselor. As an assistant, she sometimes gets to advise other students. Perdue also has a part-time job in addition to being a student. She said she learned of the scholarship through the Cambria Heights Community Church. She will attend The College of Notre Dame in Baltimore, Md. to study journalism. Association President Kevin Jemmott said only seven students applied for the scholarship despite his effort to spread the word about the awards throughout the community.”That's an ongoing problem for minority scholarships,” Jemmot said. “They often go unnoticed.” He said he could not explain why other more prominent scholarships are faced with the same difficulty despite the fact that more and more minorities are attending college.Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173
