SCHOLARSHIPS: ROOSEVELT’S CLASS OF 1957 ENDS CUSTOM
Roosevelt High’s Class of ’57 scholarship program lasted for 40 years.
For decades, class reunions had a special meaning for Roosevelt High School’s Class of 1957. It wasn’t only a time to get together. It was also a way to give back.
Before each reunion, the classmates raised money together and then distributed scholarships to deserving students across the county. But 50 years after their own graduation from a West Palm Beach school that was forced to be segregated, the surviving members say it’s time to give up the half-century tradition.
“Most of us are in our 70s,” said Josephine Harrison, 78, the scholarship chairwoman. “We are dying out. We can’t continue to do this anymore.”
On May 20, the class gave out $42,000 in scholarships to 79 high school seniors. This was the last large scholarship ceremony. Next year, the classmates will award only what little money remains in the budget.
“We have gotten a lot older and we don’t have anyone to follow up on the scholarship program,” said Gwendolyn Ferguson, president of the Class of ‘57. “So, it will be our last year.”
When the reunions started, there were numerous people involved with the scholarship foundation, according to Harrison. Now, there are only 13 left on the committee.
The Class of ‘57 started the scholarship program because their parents struggled to make sure they had a better life than they did, according to Harrison. She remembers being one of the few students from her high school to receive a scholarship.
“We all went to an AfricanAmerican school, and when we graduated, we were determined to succeed,” Harrison said. “We were determined to do well, and we did do well.”
Once members of the Class of ‘57 were doing well enough in their careers, they decided it was time to start using their money for good. The group started giving out scholarships in 1978, and almost 20 years later, they would become a nonprofit organization so they could do more.
“We wanted to invest in the students. We wanted to invest in our future,” Harrison said.
Over the past 40 years, they have given out more than 1,000 scholarships worth more than $1 million. When the scholarship program started, the group raised the money themselves through fundraiser dinners and trips, but as it grew, local businesses and individuals started to make donations.
“A lot of times businesses didn’t want their names to be given,” Harrison said. “They just wanted to help. It wasn’t about them. It was about the students.”
For Ferguson, who has been involved in the scholarship program since the beginning, it has always been about the kids.
“It has been a wonderful experience and I have got to meet a lot of wonderful students over the years,” Ferguson said. “My favorite part was always seeing their faces when they received the scholarship.”
Britney Wilson, 30, of Boynton Beach, remembers receiving her scholarship in 2006.
“It was a sense of completion,” said Wilson, who went to Roosevelt Middle School and graduated from Santaluces High. “My grandmother is part of the 1957 class, so I was a part of their community. It felt great to know these people believed in me.”
While the scholarship helped to offset her tuition cost at Florida Atlantic University, Wilson said it wasn’t all about the money.
“It didn’t matter if it was $500 or $5,000. It was just a blessing that I won something,” she said. Wilson is now a legal assistant at Kanner & Pintaluga in Boca Raton.
Over the years, Harrison kept in touch with Wilson and a handful of other students because she wanted to hear about their successes.
“I love when the students come up to me years later to thank me,” Harrison said. “They will come up to me at church on Sundays and say, ‘Hey, Mrs. Harrison. I am one of your scholarship recipients.’ ”
Tiffany Gibson, 34, of West Palm Beach, is another recipient who used to send Harrison updates about her career. Gibson won a $1,000 scholarship in 2002 when she graduated from Palm Beach Lakes High.
“The scholarship meant a lot to me,” said Gibson, who went to the University of Central Florida and studied early childhood education. “It gave me the opportunity to focus on my academics instead of my finances.”
Gibson is a reading coach at Northboro Elementary School in West Palm. When she found out the scholarship foundation was coming to
an end, she said, “It’s sad.”
“It was very influential in my life,” Gibson said. “These days, people need mentors like the (Class of ‘57) women to push and inspire them to keep going like they did with me.”
Zedrick Barber, 32, of Riviera Beach, felt grateful for his scholarship and said “it’s unfortunate” the program has come to an end.
“The scholarship was great peace of mind to me,” said Barber, who went to Florida A&M University to study political science and pre-law. “It helped pay for my books my freshman year. It was great not having to worry about that cost.”
Barber is a lawyer at his own firm in West Palm. He was inspired and motivated by the group, and not just because his grandfather was part of the class.
“The Class of ‘57 was the epitome of the word community. They banded together for so many years to do great things,” he said. “It’s an end of an era, but the work they did will be a blueprint for future high school classes to follow.”
‘I love when the students come up to me years later to thank me. They will come up to me at church on Sundays and say, ‘Hey, Mrs. Harrison. I am one of your scholarship recipients.’’ Josephine Harrison
Scholarship chairwoman