Five members of Ombudsman Chicago’s class of 2017 earned $221,000 in college scholarships ranging from $2,500 to $80,000 and were recognized at Ombudsman’s graduation June 16th. The five are among 150 graduates this year. Jacara Hampton received $2,500 and will attend Western Illinois University in Bloomington. Hampton, who was 19 years old and had three credits when she moved back to Chicago, wouldn’t have been able to graduate from traditional high school before turning 21. Her best friend recently graduated from Ombudsman and told Hampton about it. Hampton plans to be a registered nurse and entrepreneur so she can give back to the community.

Diana Valdez received $14,500 to attend Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wis., where she will double-major in biology and human physiology and minor in chemistry. She chose the school because it will help her prepare for ongoing education. Mekiyel Lofton earned $24,000 and will attend Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Ark. He plans to major in business/marketing and managing so he can manage music artists, and minor in professional writing to be a songwriter. Dayanna Jarrett earned a Merit Scholarship of up to $80,000 from Clark Atlanta University. She will receive $10,000 a semester for eight consecutive semesters by maintaining a 3.0 GPA. Jarrett, who gave the welcome address at graduation, is the fourth of five children and the first in her family to attend a university. A fifth student was offered more than $100,000 in scholarships and is attending De Paul University, from which he received $35,000.