The Page Education Foundation hosted its annual Recognition Ceremony honoring its 2008/2009 grant recipients (shown above) on June 19 at North Central University in Minneapolis.
This year’s event marked the Foundation’s 20th Anniversary. In honor of that benchmark, the ceremony was filled with an array of performances from Page Scholars, a keynote address from Erick Goodlow—one of the first Page Scholars—and remarks from Supreme Court Justice Alan Page.
The Awards Ceremony kicked-off with a mesmerizing Laotian traditional dance by Bao Xiong. Page Scholars along with their families and friends were drawn into a trance by the vibrant reds and golds from Xiong traditional garments and her subtle, yet intricate movements. Xiong performance was an in-kind donation from Vang Xiong, an eighth year recipient of the Page grant and a current graduate student at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Attendees also waived their hands to a rap/song performance from Page Scholar Kovan Baldwin. Baldwin along with his special guest encouraged Page Scholars to be a part of building change despite the obstacles one might encounter. Lastly, the performance portion of the ceremony was concluded with an exhilarating step show from members of the Minnesota chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
In between performances, attendees heard inspirational speeches from Abdinasir Abukar—a second year Page Scholar fluent in Somali and Swahili—and Erik Goodlow, one of the first students to receive a Page grant. Abukar focused on the importance of making a connection with younger children, and drew examples from his service-to-children project where he helped students of color prepare for a college education. The service-to-children project is a signature program unique to the Foundation, which requires Page Scholars to go back and work with young children for at least 50 hours during the academic year.
Erik Goodlow—one of the first 10 students to receive a Page grant—left the audience of current Scholars with some sound advice. Goodlow, a senior manager at Medtronic, stressed the importance of self-reflection and self-love as a catalyst for personal development. “The person in the mirror is today and will be forever the most important person in your life,” remarks Goodlow, “Make sure to visit that person often especially during times of joy and pain as their experience and life lessons will be helpful to your future growth.”
“We’re proud of this wonderful class of 650 Scholars,” remarks co-founder and executive director Diane Page, “It’s exciting to look forward to seeing the next generation of Scholars build on the success of those who have gone before them. They are the future. They are our heroes.”
For more information about the Foundation, visit www.page-ed.org or call (612) 332-0406.
ABOUT PAGE EDUCATION FOUNDATION
The mission of the Page Education Foundation is to increase participation of Minnesota’s youth of color—African American, American Indian, Asian American and Hispanic/Latino—in postsecondary education. Created in 1988, the Foundation offers mentoring and financial assistance for college to young people of color who agree to volunteer to help younger students. Since its creation, Page Grants have been awarded to 3,320 students who have given more than 220,000 hours of their time to younger children.
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