LYNN — School Committee member Brian Castellanos has appointed three Lynn high school students to support his youth scholarship as he runs his second virtual marathon to raise the funds.
Castellanos is running June 5 to raise money for the senior class from the four Lynn Public high schools. He recently appointed three seniors to serve as ambassadors, who will create the application process and eligibility requirements for the “2021 COVID-19 Redemption Scholarship: Carlos Prudencio (English), Sailor Brinkler (Classical) and Brian Lopez (Lynn Vocational Technical Institute). They will work alongside Castellanos to provide suggestions and ideas on how the scholarship will best benefit the students who apply.
The three ambassadors are also eligible to apply for the scholarship.
While the pandemic cancelled senior events such as proms, senior weeks and graduation ceremonies, Castellanos said he wanted to do something to benefit the “resilient seniors ” who missed out on these events.
Castellanos said the idea for a scholarship came to him last year during the pandemic when he heard concerns from multiple students regarding the lack of knowledge on scholarships, as guidance offices, where scholarships are posted, were inaccessible to students at that time.
“I was compelled to take some action,” he said. “We went through the Lynn Business Education Foundation and they endorsed the idea for the scholarship for kids.”
Castellanos said the student ambassador piece came afterward; he wanted the initiative to be a student-driven process from the development of the criteria, to the interviews to the way the money gets divided.
“The ambassador piece is really to amplify the student voice,” he said.
This year’s goal is $20,000, and Castellanos said the scholarship idea has already received great feedback from its GoFundMe page launched last week.
“We have a lot of support,” Castellanos said. “The community is very involved, so we have a lot of people who are supporting this initiative for the kids. Lynn steps up.”
Last year’s ambassadors made the decision to keep the scholarship free of restrictions, meaning the recipients can use the money for books, tuition, supplies or whatever else they need.
Castellanos said the ambassadors this year will use a great deal of social media marketing to spread the word, given there are limited options for in-person fundraising.
The ambassadors of the 2021 scholarship said they were all honored and grateful to represent their schools for this opportunity.
“I hope my part in being an ambassador will help other kids find their way to college and inspire them,” Brinkler said.
“I saw the student ambassador team was formed last year along with the scholarship, and I’m glad to be able to hold a spot on the team this year,” said Lopez. “As an ambassador, I hope to bring continued support for this scholarship while also offering a helping hand to all the seniors affected by the pandemic.”
Castellanos said he has always been motivated to help kids because he was helped by teachers and people in the community when he was growing up.
“I remember the people that helped me and inspired me when I was a student, so I always look back and see that people really care and want to do the same,” Castellanos said.
Prudencio expressed his respect for Castellanos in addition to his gratitude to be a part of the scholarship initiative.
“My thing from the start has been to help people and this is one of the best ways to do that,” Prudencio said. “Brian is a great guy with an even greater heart, so him putting this time and effort to the class of 2021 is everything. Then, not only that, but for me to be part of the process to give my peers money to go to college and make a better life for themselves is just amazing.”
In regards to the name of the scholarship, Castellanos said “redemption” is a significant aspect of its existence.
“Redemption is a big one because, when you look at the word redemption, it’s a comeback,” he said. “It’s your ability to come back from those odds and those deficits, and the pandemic really tested a lot of students and parents.”
The ambassadors this year will use their voice to share how the pandemic has impacted students. Castellanos said Brinkler, Lopez and Prudencio have already shown their determination to do remarkable work in civic engagement.
“That’s another piece that we highlight too. It’s important to be active in the community,” Castellanos said. “When I hear people talk about kids being future leaders, I think ‘no, these ambassadors are the leaders now.’”
Castellanos said his job as a school committee member is to help activate the voices of students in the community, and he hopes to do that with this scholarship.
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected].
