• Urban Educator logo

Minneapolis High School Class of 2020 Receives $1 Million in Scholarship Funds

  • Graduating members of the Class of 2022 at North High School in Minneapolis each will be receiving a $10,000 boost toward post-secondary career training or college.

    Pillsbury United Communities charitable organization has awarded the scholarship funds in an effort “to counteract the extreme difficulties” this year’s graduates have faced during their time in high school.  

    In a news release, the Pillsbury fund cited multiple travails including the Covid-19 pandemic, the police killing of George Floyd, a recent teachers’ strike, and local gun violence, including the fatal shooting of classmate Deshaun Hill Jr. in February.

    About 100 students at North High are on track to graduate this spring. Plans call for Pillsbury United to remit funds directly to the educational institutions chosen by the students, who will have access to college and career counselors over the summer.

    There will be a one-year window for each student to identify and enroll in a post-secondary program.

    “I started crying when they said $10,000 per person,” graduating senior Ronaiya Bickham told WCCO-TV.

    “This is a moment for sowing hope into those who have been profoundly affected by the events and losses of the past few years and ongoing entrenched inequities,” Pillsbury United CEO Adair Mosely said in a news release from the agency. “We believe direct investments in young people are powerful,” she added.