In celebration of 20 years of making college a reality for Washington DC metropolitan area students College Bound hosted its Annual End of the Year Celebration under the theme: “Generation to Generation: Creating a Legacy of Educational Excellence”.

The event which drew over 500 people included students, parents, partners, board members, donors, and friends was held on Thursday, May 19, 2011, at Howard University’s Blackburn Center. Prior to the program, reception attendees were privy to the sounds of the Max Light Jazz Quartet and harpist Sharon Strange. The 20th Annual End of the Year Celebration began with a processional of the Class of 2011 and a beautiful rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing, sung by College Bound’s very own: Chabeli Arroyo ’13 and Indigo Myers ’11.

After a warm welcome from Executive Director Kenneth Ward, College Bound Alum Devon Robinson and Board Chair Mike Warsaw each provided greetings to the audience.

Daron Hilton, a sophomore at our Gonzaga site, introduced our keynote speaker Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. Dr. Dyson delivered a powerful and motivating speech based on our theme of “Creating a Legacy of Educational Excellence”. Highlighting the fact that a lot of students would be the first person in their family to go to college but they should never forget the people that came before them and the sacrifices that they made to create opportunities for them to achieve great things. He said do not forget the past but also do not forget to reach back and help others because that is what will keep the legacy alive.

Board Secretary, Rita Kirshstein, awarded the Hall of Fame Award to Sol and Diane Pelavin, former President/CEO and Senior Vice President of the American Institutes for Research. The Pelavins have not only been long time financial supporters of College Bound but have also provided professionals from AIR to serve as senior advisors for the Academic Mentoring Program. Timothy Woods of the Finance Committee awarded the Community Service Award to Black Entertainment Television Chairman and CEO, Debra Lee, for her outstanding work in the community and business acumen. College Bound Site Coordinators presented Site Awards for Outstanding Partner, Team Work, Most Committed Student and Exemplary Student, followed by the awarding of over of $65,000 in scholarships.

Our night ended with closing remarks from Mr. Ward and a special tribute to the Class of 2011 by pianist Carlos McMillan Fuentes.

College Bound would like to thank all who made this event possible. It was truly a joyous occasion and we look forward to another 20 years of serving the youth in our community.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------