**FILE** The Sycamore & Oak retail village is in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Ward 8. (WI photo)
On July 20, The Pursue Foundation will dole out dorm and school supplies during the annual Freshman Sendoff at Sycamore & Oak in Southeast.(WI photo)

Word in Black is a collaboration of 10 of the nation’s leading Black publishers that frames the narrative and fosters solutions for racial inequities in America.

This summer, shortly after graduating from Ron Brown College Preparatory High School in Northeast at the top of his class, Evan Bowie started introductory coursework at Georgetown University in Northwest as part of a postsecondary journey to becoming a surgeon.  

Despite a nearly all-expense paid academic scholarship, Evan, like other college students across the country, still finds himself in need of school supplies, bedding, toiletries, and other essential materials.

Evan Bowie, a freshman at Georgetown University in Northwest, is studying nursing. He wants to become a surgeon. (Courtesy Photo)

 “I don’t have a job like most people do [so] I have to find ways to make money for myself and buy things for my nursing courses,” said Evan, 17.  

However, thanks to The Pursue Foundation, securing these items has become less of a concern. 

On July 20, Evan and nine other District high school graduates will receive dorm and school supplies during the Freshman Sendoff, an event that The Pursue Foundation hosts annually for first-generation college students. This event, scheduled to take place at Sycamore & Oak in Southeast, will set the stage for a relationship where The Pursue Foundation helps this crop of young people complete their undergraduate studies over the next four years. 

For Evan, a freshman nursing student at Georgetown University, this arrangement paves the way for greater focus on his academic pursuits. 

“The Freshman Sendoff allows me to buy those things so I don’t have to worry about the necessities,” he said. “It allows me to save money.” 

Evan cultivated his passion for medicine after losing his mother to heart disease at the age of nine. Since his junior year of high school, he’s obtained his basic life support certification and completed the D.C. Health and Academic Prep Program, coordinated by The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. 

Within a matter of months, Evan will also wrap up EMT courses. He said that these tools, in tandem with an undergraduate nursing degree, will better acclimate him to environments that surgeons and other emergency medical professionals navigate. 

“In surgery, I could help in emergency situations,” Evan told The Informer. “We need advocates because a lot of Black people don’t know about medicine. People have bad experiences and never go back or they might not have the money. We can rebuild a sense of trust among the marginalized. We need to save these young Black men and women.” 

Another Year of Community Support for Incoming College Freshmen 

For nearly a decade, The Pursue Foundation, in partnership with youth recreation specialist Marc Williams, has collected dorm and school materials for first-generation college students from Ward 7 and Ward 8. While cohorts of years past had nearly 25 students, the newest cohort has 10 first-generation college students. 

Patrice Lancaster, executive director of the Pursue Foundation, received technical assistance training from Martha’s Table that she credited with helping her develop data and evaluation tools to measure her organization’s impact. (Courtesy Photo)

Patrice Lancaster, executive director of the Pursue Foundation, said this counts as part of an effort to provide more intentional, long-term support.

 “The shock of the first year of college has caused some young people to not return,” she told The Informer. “The financial aid process is tedious, and students don’t have the support or information to keep things going.” 

Lancaster expressed plans to secure grant funding and forge partnerships with local organizations that can help her students fulfill their collegiate and professional goals. She recently received technical assistance training from Martha’s Table that she credited with helping her develop data and evaluation tools to measure The Pursue Foundation’s impact.

That training, Lancaster said, inspired adjustments to the Freshman Sendoff application process, including the submission of a short reflection.  

“The written application has gotten me a different caliber of students,” Lancaster said. “I have children who are really sure about what they want to pursue. Some of them have been showing up in pre-college activities to prepare them for studies.” 

Young People Continue to Make It to the Finish Line

While District high school graduation rates are on the rise, there’s still some concern about graduates’ ability to obtain a bachelor’s degree. 

Data compiled by D.C. Policy Center earlier this year found that 53% of 2022 high school graduates enrolled in college within six months of their graduation. When it came to college completion however, fewer than one out of five students who graduated from high school within four years obtained a bachelor’s degree. 

In that group, white students accounted for the largest subset while the economically disadvantaged and those with disabilities were a smaller portion.  

Amonte Boyd, an alumnus of Lincoln University and Temple University, credited The Pursue Foundation and Marc Williams with helping him navigate college. (Courtesy Photo)

Amonte Boyd, a Ballou Senior High School alumnus, said he’s one of five people in his high school graduating class who completed college. Earlier this summer, he walked across the stage, again, after obtaining a master’s degree in sports business from Temple University in Philadelphia. 

With two degrees under his belt, Boyd expressed plans to work as a high school athletic director. 

In 2018, Boyd counted among those who received school and dorm supplies during the Freshman Sendoff.  Weeks later, he started his freshman year at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania alongside another D.C. student who participated in the sendoff.  

Boyd said that life at the historically Black university exposed him to different cultures and helped him learn about how he could best leverage his passion for track and football, two sports he played at Ballou. 

“A lot of folks tend to just know D.C. and stay in that small bubble [so] it was good to experience and learn about new cultures,” said Boyd, 25. “I knew that with my health science degree, I wanted to further [education] and get my sports business masters degree to give back to the youth.” 

In his four years as a student at Lincoln University, Boyd maintained contact with  Williams, who continued to provide support and guidance. Boyd said that he made sure to return the favor when Williams brought nearly a dozen young people for a campus tour during his senior year.  

“I was able to show them around and take them to one of my classes,” Boyd said. “It felt good knowing that I could talk to kids from my neighborhood so they could do the same thing. The support [from Marc Williams and The Pursue Foundation] helped me a lot because my mom didn’t go to school and she couldn’t help me through everything. [Getting] the things needed gave me extra motivation.” 

A Young Lady Looks Forward to the Future

As Destiny Crawford, an alumna of KIPP DC College Preparatory, prepares to attend North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in the fall, she continues to glean wisdom from her older sister, a rising college junior. (Courtesy Photo)

As Destiny Crawford prepares to attend North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University in the fall, she continues to glean wisdom from her older sister, a rising college junior. 

Crawford, 18, recently graduated from KIPP DC College Preparatory with a passion for medicine. In the years leading up to her walk across the stage, she experienced hardships she said never deterred her from scoring high grades. Experiences include her house catching fire at the height of the pandemic and bullets flying through the property during a shootout. 

While the move to Greensboro, N.C. changes the scenery a bit, Crawford said she’s looking forward to a new environment. She touted The Pursue Foundation’s care package as a blessing that will make it easier for her to adjust to her new responsibilities.  

“I would have to spend less money on bedding, comforters, toiletries, trash bags and [other] school and cleaning supplies,” said Crawford, a Northeast resident. “It feels good but I’m sad to be leaving D.C. I’m leaving my family but this leads to more opportunities. I’m getting out of my comfort zone, meeting new people and learning how to navigate a different environment.” 

Sam P.K. Collins has nearly 20 years of journalism experience, a significant portion of which he gained at The Washington Informer. On any given day, he can be found piecing together a story, conducting...

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