The Second Annual Youth Expo was held last week at Historic Brown Chapel and students were given the unexpected opportunity to vie for $60,000 worth of scholarship funds to attend Transitions Technical College in Montgomery, according to event organizer Bruce Holmes, Jr.

Holmes, the man who led the charge to have George Washington Carver (GWC) Homes designated a historic landmark, launched the initiative last year as a way to provide Selma students with an opportunity to hear from colleges around the state and inspire them to seek more education.

“You’ve got to get an education,” Holmes said. “That’s the only way you’re going to get out.”

Holmes, who now lives in Montgomery, grew up in GWC Homes and said it was important that students hear from other members of the community who grew up there and went on to find professional success – among those who attended the event were Selma Mayor Darrion Melton and Selma City Councilman Michael Johnson, both former residents of GWC Homes, and Alabama Rep. Prince Chestnut, D-Selma, and keynote speaker Rev. Lilly Miller of New Pleasant Valley AME Zion Church in Hope Hull.

“When they see us, the see it can be done,” Holmes said. “We have made some big strides coming out of those projects.”

Holmes recalled being nine years old and hearing a politician say that “nothing good comes out of these projects” and being inspired.

“I still have to come back and try to give back,” Holmes said. “I just want to help. That’s why I come back to my hometown.”

Despite contacting every school and school system in Selma, Dallas County and Lowndes, the 75 students from Southside High School who attended the event were the only ones in attendance.

“These other schools missed out,” Holmes said. “We always talk about the students, but we don’t have any leaders.”

Holmes said the students listened intently to the messages from representatives from a variety of colleges across the state and were surprised when a representative from Transitions Technical College, a school that specializes in beauty industry studies, announced that it would provide those in attendance the opportunity to apply for three, full scholarships to the school.

The $60,000 award, good for three $20,000 scholarships that will cover the full cost of attending the college, will be awarded to students in the coming weeks based on an application and essay they will submit describing why they would be best for the award.

“It just overwhelmed me,” Holmes said.