Tying the knot might be a popular figure of speech used to represent marriage for some, but for the young black men at Urban Prep Academy for Young Men, it means they are college bound. The regular uniform required in Chicago’s Englewood Urban Prep calls for a black blazer, red tie and khaki’s. But yesterday, they all slipped on the coveted red and gold striped tied to symbolize that they had been accepted into a college of their choosing.
The neighborhood where the school is located is not exactly Beverly Hills. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. The school is smack dab in the middle of the badlands and these young men travelled by foot, some by bus, to get a good education. According to the Chicago Tribune, one student, Bryant Alexander, 18, never even thought HIGH SCHOOL was a possibility. But now, Alexander will be attending college in September. He brought home a sea of D’s and F’s on his report card in eighth grade and something happened in him, he says, to make him change his mind.
These young men are extraordinary because they received an education they could’ve walked away from because of the conditions they had to withstand to get it. But not only that, those like Alexander, had to believe in themselves and get it done. That is the hardest part. Some of the schools they will be attending are: Northwestern University, Morehouse College, Howard University, Rutgers University and University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Alexander was accepted to DePaul University. Congratulations to you all!
Read here to see what they won as a part of the school and the city’s treat for being accepted to college.
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