ACCELERATING OPPORTUNITIES: From left, West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James, Gopal Rajegowda, Stephen Ross, Palm Beach State College President Ava Parker and Eric Kelly celebrating $8 million gift Monday. PHOTO COURTESY OF PBSC

Staff Report

LAKE WORTH, Fla. – The Stephen M. Ross Emerging Scholars Program at Palm Beach State College was announced Monday during a ceremony at Gaines Park in West Palm Beach.

The $8 million gift will support West Palm Beach students in grades 7-12 and follow students through their postsecondary education at Palm Beach State College.

The program was developed in partnership with the Related Companies and the Foundation for Palm Beach State College led by Vice President of Institutional Advancement and CEO of the Foundation David Rutherford, who attended the ceremony.

“This gift is going to accelerate opportunities for West Palm Beach residents and businesses by helping remove the leading barrier to economic growth, and that’s the knowledge gap,” said PBSC President Ava. L. Parker.

“What’s so amazing about working with Stephen and his vision is that he understands that it’s not enough just to say to 12th-graders it’s time to go to college and here’s a scholarship. He understands the communication and the partnership must start so much earlier in the lives of these students.”

The $8 million gift, the first contribution of the Related Together grantmaking foundation, will ensure that every future graduate of Palm Beach Lakes and Forest Hill High Schools will receive a full scholarship to PBSC.

The Related Together contribution will also be used to finance college readiness programs for students in grades 7-12 to help prepare them for pathways to a postsecondary education and career credentials that will bolster Palm Beach County’s future workforce.

“I’m thrilled to be here,” said Ross during the ceremony. “You want to live to have an impact and do things that can really benefit people. West Palm Beach and Related Together are really in a position to do that and become the model city for this country.”

Additionally, an Early College Academy will be developed at West Palm Beach high schools, which will include paid academic advisors and peer-to-peer student mentors. These student mentors will receive a stipend. The program will also focus on preparing students for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields.

Attending the ceremony with Parker and Rutherford were Chairman of Related Companies and philanthropist Stephen Ross; Related Together Board Chair Gopal Rajegowda; West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James; West Palm Beach Commissioners Christina Lambert, Christy Fox and Cathleen Ward; President of the Quantum Foundation Eric Kelly; PBSC former District Board of Trustees Chair Carolyn Williams; PBSC Foundation and Quantum Foundation board members; and others.

“This partnership will help accomplish my administration’s goal and that is to make West Palm Beach a community of opportunity for all,” said Mayor James during the event.

Each year, Related Together will contribute funds to implement projects and programs focused on six pillars, including education, housing, income and employment opportunities, health care access, arts and culture engagement, and digital accessibility.