Students and staff from Atlanta Public Schools and Clayton and DeKalb counties met Tuesday in the Georgia World Congress Center for a surprise event. The eight high school seniors sat on the stage. They thought they were part of a panel-style discussion about tech.
Media personality Kenny Burns was the panel’s host. Burns asked a few questions, but as he was wrapping up, the students were given boxes from the event’s scholarships partner, Amazon.
“I want you to open those and tell me what you think about what’s inside,” Burns said.
As the students opened the packages…
“Scholarships!” Burns exclaimed.
The auditorium filled with cheers while Burns revealed the students were a part of Amazon’s Future Engineers program.
“Today we are thrilled to announce that these eight seniors have been named Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship Recipients,” Burns said.
The students were selected for the program based on several criteria like academic achievement and financial need. Each student will receive $10,000 over four years, plus an internship with Amazon each summer after the first year.
LaShawne Long Myles is a math and computer science teacher at North Atlanta High School. She was moved as one of her students received a scholarship.
“I am elated—I might start crying again! She was in a class where she was the only female, and there were a lot of trying times where the young men would say little things,” Long Myles said. “They thought I didn’t hear so I kind of had to like step in and be like, ‘No, this is a space for everyone.’”
The students could not contain their excitement as they were handed large checks with their names printed on them. One student, Karen Palacios, was reassured by the money as she plans to attend college in California.
“I definitely plan on paying it forward and making sure that other Latinas like me have access to these opportunities,” Palacios said. “It’s really amazing to be able to be the representation that I wanted when I was younger.”
Amazon officials say the Future Engineer program is geared towards underserved communities. The program is apart of their annual 25 million-dollar commitment to expanding STEM opportunities for students.
