Scholar Celebration Recap
What an amazing evening we enjoyed together at The Promontory on Thursday, June 12, as we gathered to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of our Class of 2025—a remarkable cohort of 60 Scholars—and their unwavering commitment to reach their dreams. We’re especially grateful to Old National Bank for sponsoring this year’s event. Ocean Lott and Rainer Fox, Class of 2027 Scholars, served as our Scholar Hosts for the evening, and they did a fantastic job of keeping the program running smoothly.
We are so proud of all of our Senior Scholars, including two who have been awarded the prestigious Questbridge Scholarship, two POSSE Scholarships, one Jordan Wings Scholarship, and one Gates Scholarship, as well as Ivy League acceptances and many other scholarships. Overall, our Class of 2025 Scholars have been awarded more than $4 million ($4,029,016) in school-based scholarships and nearly $1.2 million ($1,150,320) in outside scholarships. Scholars, your hard work and dedication have truly paid off. The doors of opportunity are open—now walk through them!
Here’s a recap of the evening’s superlatives, awards, and notable scholarships:
Superlatives
Most Likely to be President — Charles Starks
Most Likely to be Famous — Addison Belhomme
Most Likely to Show Up with Food to Saturday Academy — Kristin Talley
Class Clown — Brooklin Watkins
Most Athletic — David DeLacy
Most Outspoken — Princess Buress
Best Friends/Inseparable Award — Olivia Cameron and Jada Gray
Awards
LINK Spirit Award — Olivia Cameron
James J. Gavin Humanitarian Award — Dereon Pyles
John Parmer Outstanding Leadership Award — Olivia Cameron
Be You x 10 Award — Addison Belhomme
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Emerging Leader Award — Chace Martin (Class of 2026)
Senior Mentor Award — Astin Hayes
Exemplary Scholar Award — Egypt Drayton
School Partner Award — Holy Trinity High School
Alumni of the Year Award — trina reynolds-tyler
Notable Scholarships
POSSE Scholar — Manuel French, Oberlin College
POSSE Scholar — Dominick Ducree, Middlebury College
Questbridge Scholar — Egypt Drayton, University of Chicago
Questbridge Scholar — Michal Lampejo, Dartmouth College
Gates Scholar — Terrelle Jackson, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Jordan Wings Scholar — Hayley Dotson, Baylor University
After the awards presentations, our own Maurice Tiner, a LINK alum and our Director, Advancement & External Affairs, presented an inspiring keynote address, speaking about how LINK played a transformative role in his life when he lost his mother. “LINK was the perfect balance of accountability and love,” he said, “understanding my unique, unfortunate situation while also holding me to the standard of excellence.”
Maurice described how he measures his success based on his ability to give back to LINK and support someone else who is now in the shoes that he once filled. It was a fantastic speech that not only highlighted his full circle moment but also allowed graduating Scholars to see what it looks like for someone to go away to school, start their professional career, and then come back to LINK to pay it forward.
After the keynote address, a joyful group of LINK Alumni came together to lead all 60 graduating senior Scholars in reciting the LINK Alumni Pledge, marking the culminating rite of passage moment where LINK Scholars transition to LINK Alumni. Throughout their middle school and high school journey, Scholars eagerly anticipate the time when they’ll become Alumni—and the moment finally arrived for this year’s graduates. It was their time to commit to standing in community with future LINK Scholars, serving as role models, and building up the next generation of Black excellence.
As senior Scholars raised their right hands, they pledged to uphold the LINK values of Integrity, Resilience, Accountability, Drive, Selflessness, and Intellectual Curiosity through their successful completion of college and into their professional lives.
Congratulations, Class of 2025! This year invited you to truly dive into our “Be You x 10” mantra, and we are so proud of all you have accomplished!
