Norwich Free Academy Students Sent on HBCA College Tour

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 17, 2010
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Barbara Richard, a junior at Norwich Free Academy, aspires to be a pediatrician. One or Barbara’s classmates, Lousie Sylvain, also a junior, likewise possesses a drive to rise above her circumstances. Both Barbara and Louise are keenly aware that the only path to changing their circumstances is through higher education.

Barbara and Louise sought to participate in this year’s Historical Black College Association college tour to better educate themselves on how to get on the road to a college education and gain exposure to the wonders of a college campus. The devastation in Haiti tragically appeared to wipe out their hopes of attending. With family members in Haiti, the Richards and the Sylvains were financially taxed after providing the much needed support to their relatives in the Caribbean. Neither family could simply bear the cost of sending their children on the tour.

“We were happy to step in to provide the financial support these two students needed,” Gary H. Collins, founder and CEO of the Collins Foundation, Inc., said today. “This tour not only instructs—it inspires. These are the kinds of experiences that could help alter the destinies of these two children.”

Both Barbara and Louise will be invited to apply for a Collins Foundation, Inc. Power of One Scholarship next year.

The Collins Foundation, Inc. invests in initiatives that improve educational opportunity and strengthen community organizations in Connecticut, with a special emphasis on individuals from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds.

Committed to the principle that a quality education ushers in a lifetime of opportunity, the Foundation's prime directive is to provide support and encourage students from under-represented and/or disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue higher education through its Power of One academic scholarships.