John D. O’Bryant High School student receives annual scholarship for pursuit of college education, shares personal story of connection with mentor.
ANDOVER, MA (November 22, 2024) — Industry-leading staffing firm ALKU today announced John D. O’Bryant High School senior Elnos Edouard as the recipient of its annual scholarship in collaboration with Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP). The scholarship was awarded at the nonprofit’s yearly “Cheers to Mentoring” celebration on Thursday night at the Sporting Club at Omni Seaport in Boston, marking ALKU’s tenth year awarding a $30,000 scholarship to a local student toward their college education to be distributed over the course of four years.
Edouard’s personal story is one of remarkable persistence. He spent much of his childhood managing health issues, both in his home country of Haiti and Canada, where he would travel every year for additional treatment. Edouard eventually moved to the U.S. to live with relatives and receive consistent and high-quality medical care while his parents remained in Haiti.
“Deep down, amidst those feelings of emptiness and longing for them beside me again, I knew they did what they did out of pure love and concern for my well-being,” he writes in his scholarship nomination. “I promised myself that no matter how tough things got or how far apart we may be physically, I will make them proud through perseverance, determination, and making use of opportunities.”
It was in Jerome (JT) Tulloch’s chorus class at John D. O’Bryant that Edouard was introduced to a formal mentoring program: BPS Academic Mentoring. Now director of academic mentoring initiatives at Boston Public Schools, Tulloch recommended his student for the program. The two were formally paired as mentor and mentee, marking the beginning of a relationship that would change the course of Edouard’s life. Through the program, Edouard had Tulloch to hold him accountable in his schoolwork and to rely on him for support, which empowered him to set concreate and ambitious goals for his future.
“Before meeting JT, I didn’t see the value in school,” Edouard writes. “It felt like a chore, something to just get through. But JT took the time to teach me the value of education and the power of perseverance.”
That perseverance is paying off. Edouard earned a 3.1 GPA and is applying to Northeastern University and Wentworth Institute of Technology with plans to study civil engineering. He has also participated in the BPS Academic Mentoring Youth Council and the Boston Public Health Commission’s “Village in Progress.”
“My dream is to be a well-known and respected civil engineer,” he writes. “The kind of man my father can look at and say, ‘That’s my son. He went further than I ever did.’”
“Out of the more than 100 applications received, Elnos’ story immediately stuck out to me – not just because of his academic achievements, but because of the profound impact mentorship has had on his life,” said Elvis Bisonó, ALKU’s Community Engagement Coordinator and ALKU Scholarship Board Member. “His story is a testament to the power of having someone who believes in you at the right moment. Had it not been for his mentor stepping in at a pivotal time, his path may have taken a very different direction. This scholarship celebrates the powerful impact of positive mentorship, and we are honored to support Elnos on his education journey.”
ALKU and MMP share a commitment to the success of young people by empowering students and creating opportunities that enrich Greater Boston and its business community: MMP provides free training, technical assistance, and capacity-building support to countless youth-serving organizations state-wide, and ALKU is home to hundreds of interns annually, with its record-breaking class of over 200—each assigned their own ALKU mentor—engaging across its seven office locations and virtually during the summer of 2024.
“ALKU consistently shows their understanding of the importance of mentorship by supporting our mission here at MMP, and through their dedication to providing mentorship opportunities within their own community,” shared Cynthia K. Orellana, Ph.D, President and CEO of Mass Mentoring Partnership. “The power of healthy, consistent relationships is highlighted in their teams, and we feel strongly that ALKU stands as a great example for how mentoring can truly create a positive impact in all facets of life and work. The ALKU Scholarship has grown and evolved over its 10 years, serving as an opportunity to put into practice what we often preach by empowering youth-adult relationships, cultural responsiveness, and centering developmental frameworks in the scholarship application assessment and review process. This is a life-changing opportunity for scholars and MMP is grateful to be part of this tradition. I was certainly honored to read the profound strengths reflected in the stories of the scholars and excited for what they will do next.”
Through the ALKU Scholarship and year-round fundraising, ALKU and MMP aim to close the gap between inequitable access to the critical relationships necessary to further a young person’s career. As such, with the receipt of this award Edouard joins an unofficial network of former scholarship recipients and mentors from ALKU and beyond to receive support throughout his education and professional career.
To learn more about the ALKU Scholarship and ALKU’s partnership with MMP, visit https://www.alku.com/mass-mentoring-partnership-and-alku/.
About ALKU
ALKU is one of the nation’s fastest-growing staffing firms, facilitating critical solutions for businesses by providing highly specialized consultants across cutting edge industries including IT and life sciences. With more than 500+ employees across seven locations nationwide, ALKU generates more than $600 million in annual revenue. ALKU’s Have Fun Working Hard® company culture focuses on employee retention and growth, training and development and a highly specialized division-led operation model. ALKU is headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts.
About Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP)
Founded in 1992, Mass Mentoring Partnership (MMP) is the only statewide organization dedicated to strategically expanding quality mentoring relationships throughout Massachusetts. MMP serves more than 320 mentoring programs and youth-serving organizations statewide, supporting over 40,000 young people. Our program network includes schools, state agencies, faith-based organizations, community nonprofits, businesses, and colleges. MMP provides resources to the mentoring and youth-serving field through a variety of avenues, including training, site-based technical assistance and quality-based consultation, regional convenings, and gatherings, and statewide research. Additionally, MMP advocates for increased public and private resources to build the capacity of the Massachusetts mentoring movement.
Media Contact:
Brittney Feudo
(978) 587-1616
Bfeudo@thecastlegrp.com