PATERSON — The room in a former 19th century Paterson locomotive factory filled with applause recently as city students were recognized for their accomplishments — and awarded a combed $25,000 in scholarships that will help them pay for college costs.
Alyson Betancourt, who will attend Northeastern University's Boston campus to study international affairs, talked about her family's financial difficulties. Her $1,000 scholarship, she said, would help with transportation, textbooks and traveling home during school breaks.
"The small things that colleges don't usually give money for actually really add up, especially your first year because you have to get everything," Betancourt said.
Now she is excited about the challenges college will bring, but nervous about leaving behind relationships she has built in Paterson.
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"I'm both really excited to have this independence and really scared that I'm going to mess it up," Betancourt said.
Betancourt was one of numerous Paterson students honored at the 12th annual College Sendoff sponsored by New Jersey Community Development Corporation (NJCDC), a city-based nonprofit group.
Among the others were Camil Fermin Sanchez of International High School, who will be attending Emory University to pursue a bachelor of science degree in nursing; Soybah Rahman, who is going to Rutgers-New Brunswick to study mechanical engineering; and Ileana Zuniga, who graduated from Passaic County Technical Institute and is headed to Montclair State University to study fashion design and merchandising.
More than $25,000 in scholarships were announced during the event, including awards of $500, $1,000, and $2,500. William Paterson University also announced its new Paterson Promise Scholarship, which will provide 10 city students with four years of tuition and fees at the university.
For many of the students, the morning represented more than a celebration of academic achievement. Many of them will become the first members of their families to attend college, making the support they received from their families, schools and community organizations especially significant.
NJCDC President Bob Guarasci said the scholarships are intended to show students that their community is invested in their futures.
"It's less about the amount," Guarasci said. "It's for Paterson students to know and understand that their entire community is behind them."
Guarasci said he hoped the youths will make the most of their college experience with their scholarships.
"We not only want to help kids go to college and get into college, but we want them to stay in college, and we want them to graduate from college," Guarasci said.
For students like Adolfo Castro, his $1,000 scholarship represented an opportunity to focus more fully on that next step.
Castro, who will attend Passaic County Community College to study business administration, said his family's immigrant background shaped his determination to pursue higher education in the United States.
"This scholarship helped me because this is going to give me more peace," Castro said. "I'm going to stay more focused on my studies."
For some immigrant families, parents may have little familiarity with the American higher education system, including the FAFSA process, applications, scholarships, and other requirements, said Eddie Gonzalez of NJCDC. The Spruce Street nonprofit, he said, works to help families understand those systems and expose students to college through campus visits and other opportunities.
Manuel Jaquez-Rodriguez will attend William Paterson University's School of Accounting after receiving a full-tuition Paterson Promise Scholarship.
"To be assisted financially and being given this opportunity is very life-changing because I get to basically benefit my family in a way that not everybody is capable of doing," he said.
Jaquez-Rodriguez said he was surprised when he received an email informing him that he had been selected.
His biggest motivation now is his family, he said.
"What I'm most excited about is finally being able to prove to my family that I can actually do something with all the hard work that I put in," he said.
The event's speakers repeatedly reminded students that leaving Paterson does not mean leaving the city behind.
For Guarasci, the event represents an effort to change the narrative around higher education in a city where relatively few adults hold college degrees.
The College Sendoff, he said, was created in part because of that disparity.
"We are committed to changing that narrative," Guarasci said. "And I think it all starts with events like this today."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: These Paterson high school grads got a kick-start paying for college