Three Lincoln students win scholarships from Get MotivatED Challenge

Three students from Abraham Lincoln High School were each awarded $1,000 college scholarships for their leadership during the Get MotivatED Challenge, a national program that supported 25 high schools across the country as they worked to improve attendance rates over six weeks. The Challenge was administered by the Get Schooled Foundation and supported by AT&T, Comcast, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Viacom.

Missed attendance is one of the most significant predictors of dropping out of high school.  Studies have found that students with more than 20 absences in any given year have only a 19 percent chance of graduating.  Throughout the six-week competition, students and teachers at Abraham Lincoln High School worked together and improved attendance rates for the school.

“Comcast seeks to support organizations that inspire young people to lead and the Get MotivatED Challenge encouraged them to do just that,” said Charisse R. Lillie, vice president of community investment for Comcast Corporation.  “We are thrilled to present these scholarships to three outstanding students at Abraham Lincoln High School and bring them one step closer to achieving their educational goals.” 

The three seniors from Lincoln receiving scholarships are Mahbuba Choudhury, Malcolm Robinson-Gonzalez and Melinda Harris.

Mahbuba Choudhury will attend Holy Family University next year and plans to major in biochemistry to pursue her dream of becoming a pediatric cardiologist.

Malcolm Robinson-Gonzalez plans to head to the Community College of Philadelphia and then join the Air Force. In four years, he has not missed one day of school.

Melinda Harris has turned her life around, dramatically improving her attendance and grades. She plans to major in music and education when she heads to college in the fall.

Lincoln students cheer on fellow students during event. Photo by by Joseph Kaczmarek. “I am extremely proud of all our Lincoln High School students. Today, we are honoring three students who live by our motto: ‘We educate all students for current and future success, at The New Lincoln High School, where the future is yours to build,'” said Dr. Donald Anticoli, principal at Lincoln. “We are excited and getting ready for next year — 2011-2012 Get Schooled Challenges and the opportunities they provide. Get Schooled!”

Through the Get MotivatED Challenge, 12 students in four cities (Boston, Chicago, Nashville and Philadelphia) each received $1,000 Comcast scholarships as a reward for their leadership and for going above and beyond to motivate other students to show up every day.  Comcast also granted $30,000 in scholarships to three students at the winning school of the Get MotivatED Challenge (Collins Academy in Chicago). The Collins Academy scholarships were recently presented by music superstar Nicki Minaj at an all-school assembly to celebrate the students’ and teachers’ accomplishments during the challenge.

During the national challenge, students across the schools recognized teachers as one of the most important motivators, submitting 3,000 nominations for more than 550 inspiring teachers. Click here to view.

Students also submitted and voted on homemade original videos about the importance of education through the Def Jam Rapstar video contest.  More than 100 entrants drew views and votes from across the country.

Lincoln students submitted six video submissions, including a rousing cheer from their cheerleading squad, two entries from their ROTC groups, a group rap with more than 20 students singing the chorus in the background, a solo performance and a trio of strong women with a powerful message about the importance of education.  The female trio sang, “I’ll be getting straight A’s ‘cuz I’m the best. I’ll be studying hard for every test. And I’m trying to do what I gotta do. And I want to get schooled….how about you?”

The winning entrant of the Def Jam video contest is being flown to New York to perform live on BET’s 106 & Park.

In light of the drowning death of a Lincoln student Wednesday night, the program was restructured to honor his memory.

-Submitted by Comcast Corporation