Making College Dreams a Reality for 118 Chicago-Area College Students.

As an estimated 20 million college students across the nation start fall classes, the George M. Pullman Educational Foundation announces its commitment to investing $1 million in scholarships and education supports for the 98 renewing and 20 new 2017-2018 Pullman Scholar Cohort.

Rooted in Chicago since 1950, the George M. Pullman Educational Foundation is a private operating foundation that has invested more than $33 million in Chicago-area students who aspire to earn a college degree. The Foundation helps change the trajectory of young peoples’ lives each year by providing merit-based, need-based scholarships of up to $10,000 per year, renewable for up to four years. Along with scholarships, the Foundation also offers scholars educational support and access to a wide network of more than 14,000 Pullman Scholar Alumni ready to help current scholars in their college journey and beyond.

“The Pullman Foundation has a rich history of supporting the brightest young people from diverse communities in the Chicago-area,” says Robin Redmond, executive director of the Foundation. “We see first-hand how earning a college degree positively affects our scholars, their families, and even their communities. It’s a ripple effect that continues for decades.”

Approximately 700 young people applied to become Pullman Scholars this year. The highly competitive selection process requires applicants to have minimum 3.0 GPA and demonstrate strong leadership skills and community involvement.

The 2017-2018 Pullman Scholar Cohort consists of 118 Pullman Scholars who are attending 54 different colleges across the nation, such as Howard University, Illinois University at Urbana-Champaign, Yale University, and Stanford University. The 68th Class of Pullman Scholars were selected in May and are pursuing degrees at 17 different colleges in some of the most in-demand fields, including engineering, international policy, and medicine.

The Foundation’s scholarship application opens in early November 2017 and will be available online until February 2018. Candidates interested in learning more about eligibility and the application process should visit www.pullmanfoundation.org/apply.

68th Class of Pullman Scholars – Class of 2021

Alexandra Abbey, graduate of University of Chicago Laboratory School, New York University

John Anderson, graduate of Southland College Prep, University of Pennsylvania

Ayana Blair, graduate of Wheeling High School, Illinois Wesleyan University

Jenna Bostick, graduate of Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Grand Valley State University

Ezenna Chukwujioke-Madu, graduate of Hillcrest High School, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Rafael Curran, graduate of Saint Ignatius College Prep University of Notre Dame

Malcolm Fox, graduate of Wendell Phillips Academy, Wesleyan University

Alije Kaleshi, graduate of Saint Ignatius College Prep, University of Southern California

Andres Lagunas, graduate of Hubbard High School, DePaul University

Diana Lam, graduate of Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Middlebury College

Cyrus Lau, graduate of Kenwood Academy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Gabriella Marino, graduate of Marist High School, Marquette University

Adriana Martinez, graduate of Lane Technical College Prep High School, Carnegie Mellon University

Alexandria Nwarache, graduate of Rich East High School, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Juhi Patel, graduate of East Leyden High School, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Alondra Ramos, graduate of Theodore Roosevelt High School, University of San Francisco

Nathaniel Rodriguez, graduate of Maine Township High School District 207 West, Washington University in St. Louis

Austin Schelfhout, graduate of William Fremd High School, Bradley University

Jaime Sosa, graduate of Instituto of Health and Sciences Career Academy, University of Illinois at Chicago

Skyler Thompson, graduate of Thornton Fractional North High School, DePaul University