What Springboard to Success scholarship recipient Taaj Reaves remembers of the moment she found out her dreams of college and law school would be possible is a feeling of gratitude.
“My parents…I didn’t have financial help and so everything that I had going towards school was loans or scholarships and the majority of it was loans,” said Reaves, who grew up in public housing.
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Reaves knew her dreams of college and law school came with a hefty price tag, and she said she felt an “immense burden” when considering the debt she’d face upon graduation.
“When you’re a student you don’t’ know if you’re going to get a job,” she added. “You don’t know if you’re going to get a job that’s going to be able to afford you the ability to pay off your loans. There’s a lot of uncertainty.”
That all changed when she received a scholarship from the Chicago Housing Authority’s Springboard to Success non-profit.
“We know education is a research proven pathway out of poverty,” said Kristen Hamer, who works for the CHA Springboard to Success non-profit.
Hamer dedicated her career work to helping students accomplish their educational dreams and sees stories like Reaves’ all too often.
“We want to do what we can to ensure that kids who live in public housing today have other housing options as an adult,” Hamer added.
Past scholarship recipients are quick to sing praises for the program.
“It works,” said scholarship recipient Kente Elem. “Once you put your effort and money into it, it works. It’s not going to waste.”
Recipient Shawnell Sims-Ceballos said the scholarships are particularly helpful to first-generation college students.
“I believe that scholarships help them achieve a whole lot more,” Sims-Ceballos said.
CHA’s Springboard to Success receives as many as 400 applicants for scholarships every year. They’re sometimes only able to award roughly 170 of those students with $2,000 scholarships each.
“It’s super important to provide someone a path to better themselves,” said Reaves.
Reaves was lucky enough to be awarded three times. Today, not only did she graduate law school, she’s a proud attorney for a River North law firm and her student loans are fully paid off.
“You’re gonna make it work and don’t let the number stop you from pursuing what you want to do because it’s going to multiply,” she added.
A link to donate to Springboard to Success is available here.