Yates HS seniors receive scholarships from Roland Martin

Famed TV journalist and commentator Roland Martin visited Yates High School Friday morning, providing scholarships to three seniors.

Martin is a member of the Yates Class of 1987 and hosts Roland Martin Unfiltered.

“I purposely selected Yates for this scholarship because the foundation of what I do every day was learned right here at Jack Yates High School,” Martin said.

Martin awarded the $1,000 scholarships to Mario Alvarado, Kennedy Colen, and Kalei Williams.

Williams will study psychology at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

“I want to help people get into a better space,” Williams said. 

The other two winners plan to be entrepreneurs after they complete college.

Alvarado will study computer science at Colgate University in upstate New York. He says English is his second language, and he had to learn it much later than most of his classmates. He hopes to use his computer science degree to help others.

“I want to own a software development company and develop a platform that helps people learn English,” Alvarado said.

Kennedy will study Early Childhood Education at Howard University. 

“After graduation, I will be opening my own daycare,” she said.