Meet the Students
Ebony Lea
Graduate, Syracuse University
Hands on DC "volunteers understand that kids do deserve a great chance. They can definitely be productive members of society if they are given that opportunity, and it's good that an entire organization recognizes that."-Ebony Lea
Ebony Lea can attest first hand to the value of the scholarship funds raised each year by Hands on DC volunteers for DC public school students. In 1997, as a junior in high school, she received a scholarship from College Bound, a local mentoring and tutoring organization that awards 100% of the funds raised by Hands on DC volunteers to help students like Ebony aspire to and attend college.
Ebony was born and raised in the Northeast section of Washington, DC. She began participating in College Bound during her freshman year of high school in 1994, and graduated from Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in 1998. Armed with the support and advice of her College Bound mentor (with whom she still stays in touch, 10 years later), and a $6000 scholarship raised by Hands on DC volunteers, Ebony left her native DC to travel to attend Syracuse University in upstate New York. In 2002, she graduated from Syracuse with a Bachelor of Science in Information Management and Technology.
Ebony emphasizes that Hands on DC volunteers can make an important difference in students' lives through the scholarship pledges they raise each year. "Without people like them donating time and effort to raise contributions, students like myself would not have been able to go to college." In particular, she notes that the scholarships awarded each year help fill key areas of need, like transportation and book expenses, that other resources may not. "The scholarships help with little expenses. You can easily get a student loan for tuition but you can't get a student loan to cover books and transportation and emergencies." Thanks to the scholarships, students can focus on their studies without worrying about these living expenses or needing to work extra hours.
Today, Ebony is thrilled to be giving back to her local community. She not only serves as a mentor to Brittney, a current College Bound senior, but she is also employed as a program coordinator for College Bound, where she develops and plans new activities and programs. "You don't work for the paycheck. You work to get something from it, something meaningful. You work for the experience. Every day I wake up and I'm excited about coming to work. In order to spend 40 plus hours somewhere you have to love it. You have to have a certain part of your heart in it."
Ebony also looks forward to participating in the Hands on DC work-a-thon with a team of College Bound students, creating a positive cycle of volunteerism. "The work that we will be doing funds the scholarships-this is the organization helping give to us." Participating in the Hands on DC work-a-thon along with other Hands on DC volunteers "lets College Bound students know that the community thinks that college is important" and is really "making an investment in public school students." Hands on DC volunteers "see how important school is and they get that across to students" through their time and pledges.
