Dougherty County Schools announce REACH Scholarship recipients

ALBANY, Ga. – The REACH Scholarship program have announced their select group for the 2023 scholarship recipients.

The Dougherty County School System marked the occasion by celebrating the 2023 REACH scholarship signees. These all-star students have earned their place in this prestigious program through their steadfast dedication to academic excellence.

“REACH stands for Realizing Educational Achievement Can Happen. It was a program that was started by then-Governor Nathan Deal years ago; with the goal of providing access to college for high achieving students starting in middle school. And, not only is it based on academics and educational achievement, but it’s also character. They have to maintain good grades, but also good behavior, good attendance at a drug free, crime free. So, it’s building not just educational scholarship, but also character,” said Kenneth Dyer, Dougherty County Schools Superintendent.

In the realm of education opportunities, the reach scholarship stands as a remarkable achievement, guaranteeing a minimum of $10,000 to its recipients. Among this year’s distinguished recipients are Serenity Taylor, Jordan Austin, Shekinah Jackson, and Mysha Farroq.

We had the privilege of hearing from Mysha Farooq, one of the esteemed reach scholarship recipients, as she shares her perspective on receiving this prestigious award. She also elaborates on her aspirations and plans for her academic journey and future career.

“It feels exhilarating and I am very excited and I feel very proud of myself, mainly because I get to be a leadership goal for my brothers. I can be an example to them and I hope that they will academic successfulness. My plans as I leave middle school are to continue on my path to achieve academic and career success. I choose to stay on my road to becoming a successful surgeon. I also choose to make sure that my grades are good, like my GPA is good, my attendance to be good, I like to be good in any way I can be good,” said Mysha Farooq, 2023 REACH Scholarship recipient.

This scholarship not only offers a financial reward, but provides crucial support through a dedicated staff and community to whom play a pivotal role in guiding these students on their journey.

“But, also, lets them know that they have a community of supporters behind them because they have academic advisors, and reach coordinators who make a pledge to support these students. Our students, from the time they sign this commitment form moving forward through their college graduation. So, we say it takes a village and it certainly does. So, we want to thank the students of course, for their hard work and dedication. The parents and family members who support them, of course, DCSS faculty staff who support them, but also our community partners. Georgia-Pacific has been a sponsor of the program for several years and providing the local mass that’s required for the program. So, we have a lot of sponsors, a lot of our community partners who pour into our students in numerous ways. And this is just one of those ways and we certainly appreciate them,” said Kenneth Dyer, Dougherty County Schools Superintendent.

De’Andra Jacobs reporting.

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