The New Leadership grad is headed to Westfield State University this fall to study child psychology.
Jimmie Mitchell, youth engagement coordinator at the Springfield Housing Authority, and Taylor Smith, recipient of the Springfield Housing Authority's Farris Mitchell Scholarship, are photographed at Smith's New Leadership High School graduation ceremony, held at American International College. The scholarship, named after Mitchell's father, is given to a student who lives in authority-run housing.SPRINGFIELD - New Leadership High School graduate Taylor Smith received something in addition to her diploma at her June 2 graduation - she won a $1,000 scholarship from the Springfield Housing Authority.
Smith, 17, who is headed to Westfield State University in September, received the Farris Mitchell Scholarship, given each year to a qualifying graduating high school senior who lives in authority-run housing.
Smith, an honor roll student, lives at the John L. Sullivan Apartments in the Liberty Heights neighborhood.
Smith, a self-described independent and decisive person, said the additional funds will help her pay for books and other school supplies as she heads off to study child psychology. She offered words of gratitude for the scholarship.
“I’m so thankful for this. It’s going to make a big difference for me. I was so excited when I found out I had won it,” she said.
The Farris Mitchell Scholarship, begun in 1995, was named after a man who lived for many years with his wife and 10 children at Riverview Apartments in the Brightwood neighborhood. Mitchell, who died in 1994, loved children, and instilled in his own children and many others a desire to improve their future through education. All of his children finished high school and went on to college.
The scholarship is administered by Farris Mitchell’s son Jimmie Mitchell, a retired Springfield educator who presented the check to Smith at a ceremony at American International College. Mitchell is now youth engagement coordinator at the housing authority.
Mitchell attended the graduation ceremony at American International, where he urged all students to strive for their personal best. He also had great things to say about Smith.
“She’s a standout. I can see just by talking with her that she’ll go far. She’s the perfect choice for this scholarship,” Mitchell said.
Smith is the oldest of seven children. She and her family landed at Sullivan after being in a homeless program, and settled into the development as well as the neighborhood.
While she admits she wasn’t always the best student, Smith said things began turning around for her after she enrolled at New Leadership towards the end of her seventh-grade year.
“New Leadership is my home. It’s different from any school I’ve ever been to. You know they really care about you there,” Smith said.
“I had an attitude at first, and I wasn’t so easy. But after a while I began to see that you don’t have to have an attitude about every little thing. I changed a lot. Deciding to go to college was a little bit of the teachers pushing me, and a lot of me being ready to take that first step,” she said.
Already, Smith is finding she’s a role model for her siblings. A brother and a sister, both students at New Leadership, are looking at colleges and putting in the work necessary to gain acceptance.
Smith said she plans to major in child psychology, after working several jobs with youth, including her current position as a youth mentor at the YMCA of Greater Springfield after-school program at Sullivan.
At Sullivan, grants coordinator Lidya Rivera said Smith is a perfect fit for the scholarship, and will prove a great college student.
“Taylor is someone that we’ve been working with for a while,” Rodriguez said. “She’s really come a long way. She’s great with kids. She’s a real role model.”
Smith’s mother, Lachisha Smith, also chimed in with compliments.
“The hard work and the grades she earned - I was amazed. She’s worked so hard. She’s always been like that, just a hard worker,” she said. “She’s been my backbone. This scholarship will help her a lot.”