Public Education Foundation - Partners for Strong Schools

Meet the Students

Passport girls are sophomores in public high schools in Hamilton County. They come to the Passport program with little exposure to the larger world. After participating in a rigorous summer enrichment program they return more confident, capable and open-minded. Passport girls bring their experiences home to act as leaders in their schools and communities.

Meet Taralyn Wiley, 2011 Passport Scholar

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Meet Ja'Keena Dillard, 2010 Passport Scholar

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Meet the 2010 Passport Scholars

Summer 2011 Class

• Angelia "Angie" Vega of Hixson High and Haley Long of Central High both studied Culinary Arts at the Julian Krinsky Camps & Programs on the campus of Haverford College near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Angie will be a first-generation graduate of both high school and college, and Haley is in the top 3% in her class.
• Ayana Woodard of Center for Creative Arts studied vocal music at Putney School Summer Progam in Vermont. Ayana won a gold medal in Poetry in the NAACP high school talent competition.
• Red Bank High student Taralyn Wiley studied law and video editing at Penn State University Summer Study program. Taralyn will be the first in her family to attend college and wants to study law.
• Ashlyn York of Ooltewah High studied medicine at Penn State University Summer Study program. Ashlyn will be a first-generation college student.
• Olga Kalytyuk of East Hamilton High studied medicine at the Smith Summer Science and Engineering Program (SSEP) at Smith College in Massachusetts. Olga is Ukrainian and moved to the US when she was 7 years old.
• Following in her sister Ja'Keena's footsteps, Keyawne Dillard of East Ridge High studied Japanese at Concordia Language Villages in the North Woods of Minnesota.
• Keyanna Carr of Brainerd High and Cecelia Cameron of Hixson High both attended Earlham College's Explore-A-College Program in Indiana.  Keyanna chose to “Explore Human Behavior” while Cecelia studied Spanish. Keyana wants to be a lawyer, and Cecelia will be the first in her family to attend college.