Harlem School Marks 40 Years Of Outreach

HARLEM, NY - Reverend Calvin Butts III joins community leaders, students and staff at the Harlem Center for Education to honor 40 years of helping inner city young people and adults attend college. Celebration is at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 21st at El Museo Del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Avenue (104th Street).

HCE has served over 35,000 low-income youth from the Harlem community in their college quest. Participants in the program have enrolled in over 185 colleges and universities throughout the United States. This represents a college placement rate in excess of 80%.

One young man, Rashaun Allen, struggled against odds no young person should endure. After the tragic loss of his mother while he was a freshman at Norman Thomas High School, he struggled to survive. But with the character his mother had instilled in him, along with the help of his maternal grandfather, he found the strength and courage to succeed. At the Harlem Center for Education (HCE), he began a journey of self discovery, and his intellectual curiosity and thirst for knowledge led him to SUNY at Albany, where he recently graduated. He currently attends The College of Saint Rose as a graduate student seeking Masters of Business Administration.

Angelique Carvajal-Montalvo first joined the HCE in July of 2009 seeking her high school diploma. It was clear that Angelique had special academic skills, but faced serious problems, including lack of stable housing, and the effort to regain custody of her son. She did not let these obstacles deter her, however, and in October 2009 she attained her GED certificate. Aware that higher education was the only pathway to a better life for her and her family, Angelique enrolled in Bronx Community College’s Human Services program where she is currently pursuing an Associates degree.