Multicultural Greek Council awards scholarships to local students

Many chapters of the Multicultural Greek Council are helping local high school students on their way to college, expecting nothing in return.

On Saturday afternoon, two high school seniors from Philadelphia each received the $500 AVANCE Scholarship from Sigma Lambda Upsilon sorority.

The scholarship was just revived this year after lying dormant for 10 years due to low membership, according to Wharton senior Sasha Lagombra, president of Sigma Lambda Upsilon.

She said the scholarship isn’t meant to be “a pipeline program” and that the main focus is simply giving back to the Philadelphia area however they can.

College sophomore and MGC President Jonathan Paz Arevalo said that well over half of the 13 fraternities and sororities within MGC have scholarship programs to help high school students fund college expenses, but none are intended to be incentives to join the specific chapter or even to come to Penn.

Instead of seeking to persuade these high school students to join specific Greek chapters at Penn, Arevalo said these scholarships aim to address the “bigger picture nationwide” — the underrepresentation of minorities at colleges in general. “We want to help any and all people of color to reach higher education,” he said.

Lagombra added that both scholarship recipients applied to colleges where Sigma Lambda Upsilon is not established, and neither is planning to attend Penn.

Wharton junior and Exchequer of Kappa Alpha Psi Marcus Hawkins-Dungey agreed, saying that his fraternity’s scholarship isn’t meant to encourage the recipients to join Kappa Alpha Psi, but “ideally we identify them as people who embody the ideals of our fraternity.”

Kappa Alpha Psi’s $1,000 scholarship is usually presented at their annual Crimson and Cream Ball, but this year was awarded at an informal lunch on March 29.

College senior and Vice President of Alpha Kappa Alpha Jacqueline Baron said her chapter looks for a similar commitment to serving the community when they review the applications they get for their Leona K. Baylor Scholarship.

Baron was immersed in the selection process last year as the chair of the Reading and Scholarship Committee, and she said they aim to award the scholarship to students who have succeeded both academically and outside the classroom. “We want to see if their story and personality [come] through in the application,” she said.

Though the final decisions have not been made yet, Baron said that Alpha Kappa Alpha will award the scholarship to two high school students — one prize of $1,500 and one of $1,000.

MGC is unique in the Greek community for giving out scholarships that are for high school students who don’t necessarily intend to come here.

Each of these scholarships depends on the chapters’ fundraising efforts throughout the year but, “We don’t necessarily do philanthropy in the same way [that] the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council do,” Arevalo said.

With their smaller size, Arevalo said that large-scale fundraising is often a challenge for MGC, so they build relationships with specific local nonprofits instead.

Hawkins-Dungey said the money for their scholarship comes from ticket sales for the Crimson and Cream Ball, in addition to money they raise from bake sales and other donations.

Baron said that her sorority is normally able to cover the cost of one entire scholarship in one fell swoop. For the past three years, she said, Alpha Kappa Alpha has won the Penn Relays Step Show, which awards the winner a prize of $1,000. They have used this money to fund the scholarship.

Lagombra said her sorority is glad to be able to raise the money for their scholarship, especially for the first time in 10 years. “We’re happy to be giving back to the community in whichever way they need it,” she said.

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