30 • Thursday, April 6, 2017
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The Choice is Yours
College Choice Foundation Emerges From Grassroots Beginnings
2016-17
BEST
By Emily Williams
CHILDREN’S HOSPITALS
Children’s
of Alabama is ... l
The third largest pediatric hospital in the United States
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Licensed for 332 beds & 48 NICU bassinets One of the Top 20 employers in Alabama with more than 4,700 employees across the state The pediatric teaching hospital for the School of Medicine at UAB Home to the Pediatric & Congenital Heart Center of Alabama, where more than 450 cardiac surgeries are performed annually Site of the only pediatric kidney dialysis program in the state — one of the largest in the country Home to one of the largest burn units in the Southeast One of the largest pediatric rheumatology programs in the nation and the only one in Alabama Provides care for more than 90 percent of Alabama children with cancer and blood disorders
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............................... Russell Campus 1600 7th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35233 205.638.9100 Benjamin Russell Hospital for Children Lowder Building and McWane Building McWane Building Children’s on Third Outpatient Center Children’s Park Place
1601 5th Avenue South 1600 7th Avenue South 1600 7th Avenue South 1208 3rd Avenue South 1600 5th Avenue South
Children’s South 1940 Elmer J. Bissell Road, Birmingham, AL 35243 205.638.4800 Outpatient surgery services, Pediatric Imaging Center, laboratory services, specialty care clincis and After Hours care
Pediatric Practice Solutions Primary Care Locations Alabaster (Greenvale Pediatrics) Bessemer (Pediatrics West) Birmingham (Midtown Pediatrics) Brook Highland (Greenvale Pediatrics) Clay/Chalkville (Pediatrics East-Deerfoot) Homewood (Mayfair Medical Group) Hoover (Greenvale Pediatrics) McAdory (Pediatrics West) Montgomery (Physicians to Children/Central Alabama Children’s Specialists) Mountain Brook (Over the Mountain Pediatrics) Pell City (Pell City Pediatrics) Trussville (Pediatrics East) Vestavia (Vestavia Pediatrics)
www.ChildrensAL.org
The College Choice Foundation, the brainchild of Homewood parents, provides a road map to help low-income students find colleges that fit not only their financial needs, but also their personalities. When her oldest daughter, Savannah, who had done well in school, started searching for colleges, Josephine Lowery hired Dr. Mark Bateman, an associate professor of education at Samford University, to help navigate the process. As Bateman advised her daughter on different schools to consider, Lowery noticed he often mentioned that he wanted to give the same help to students who didn’t have the advantages her daughter had. It struck a chord with Lowery, who overcame adversity during her own upbringing. “I grew up on food stamps and free lunches, raised by an alcoholic mother,” Lowery said. “So, had my guidance counselor not intervened for me and helped me obtain a full scholarship with financial aid … my life would be very different.” With the help of her counselor, Lowery, now a retired real estate attorney, was offered full scholarships with financial aid to Vanderbilt, Emory, Birmingham-Southern College and her alma-mater, Sewanee. With her experiences in mind, she offered to help Bateman and pay forward the opportunities she had received. Thus, the grassroots beginnings of the College Choice Foundation were planted. The foundation is currently managed by an executive committee that includes Lowery, co-founder and president; Bateman, co-founder; Nancy Hale, co-founder and vice-president; and Cassandra Joseph. Each are Homewood parents. Lowery, Hale and Joseph have all been actively involved in volunteering in the school system, and each are or have served as PTO president for one of the schools. The mission is to offer high-achieving students from economically and/or disadvantaged backgrounds the tools and support they need to find a college that best suits them. Through financial support and intense guidance during the process, the goal is to find a college that suits each student, rather than one that is merely convenient. “We started with my landscaper’s daughter, Michelle Williams,” Lowery said. “Her father, Harold, had for years shared with me snippets about Michelle’s achievements.” Shortly after bringing on Williams as the first scholar, they found a second in Joy Korley. Both students chose the University of Washington at St. Louis. Williams received a scholarship of $65,000 a year and Korley received a full scholarship. The foundation currently supports eight scholars. Five are students at Homewood High School and three are attending college.
Photo special to the Journal
& World Report
OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL
Members of the College Choice Foundation executive committee, from left, Cassandra Joseph; Dr. Mark Bateman, co-founder and professor at Samford; Nancy Hale, co-founder and vice president; and Josephine Lowery, co-founder and president. Last year, the foundation created the Julian G. Finley Scholar’s Award. Finley, who lost his battle with cancer last year, grew up in the Homewood school system, graduating from the high school in 1979. He was a beloved member of the school and played football and with the band.
1979 Homewood High School Yearbook
U.S. News
SCHOOLS
“Our students are very bright, they have an amazing work ethic, many have overcome incredible hardships and they are economically disadvantaged,” Lowery said. “Many of them need 100 percent financial aid or full scholarships. Our mission is to find the best fit in a college for our students, which also includes affordability.” Many of the colleges within five hours of Birmingham aren’t able to offer full scholarships, so the foundation looks farther out. They fund interview clothes for the students, college visits and review courses for the ACT or SAT. Before going public as a 501(c)(3), the members of the executive committee funded everything out of their own pockets and through their own resources. Once the group was publicly known, a fundraiser was held at Good People Brewing Company and raised more than $20,000. Last year, the foundation created the Julian G. Finley Scholar’s Award, which is given each December to one of the scholars. The award is named after the late Julian Finley, who grew up in the Homewood school system, graduating from the high school in 1979. He was a beloved member of the school, Lowery said, and played football and with the band. “In a time of racial unrest, Julian managed to bridge this gap,” she said. “According to his family, Julian was incredibly gregarious, possessed keen intelligence and had a grand sense of humor. He would do anything for
someone in need.” After Finley’s untimely passing from cancer, Lowery received a call from a friend asking that a scholarship be set up in his name. She attended Finley’s funeral, where she learned about his life and legacy. “I learned a lot about Julian by attending his funeral, and I left in tears, wishing I had known him. But he has touched my life and the lives of our scholars,” Lowery said. The award is given to a scholar who embodies Finley’s principles. He valued academics and community, had a zeal for life and saw great importance in helping others. “Julian had actually wanted to create a scholarship for low-income students from Homewood to honor his mother, who I believe was on the school board at one point, so his siblings have mentioned often how much Julian would love College Choice Foundation!” Lowery said. The first recipient is Frank Trujillo, who graduates in May from Homewood High School, where he is a member of the varsity soccer team and the Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society. In addition to the support the foundation gives each scholar, the recipient of the scholarship receives a stipend to help buy textbooks, which is a growing expense. Though the exact cost varies with each student, The College Board estimates that an undergraduate student at a four-year public college will spend roughly $1,298 on course materials. “Because of this fund, we have forged a lasting bond with Julian’s family, our students have an amazing legacy to aspire to, and we can better help one scholar each year financially,” Lowery said. For more information on the College Choice Foundation, visit collegechoicefoundation.org. ❖