CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte area company is offering big scholarships to undocumented students hoping to go to college.
Red Ventures launched the Golden Door Scholars program 10 years ago, making sure students who don’t have access to federal aid still have opportunities to pay for college.
The people behind the program don’t actually love calling it a scholarship program because money is not the only thing that is involved.
"Every day I go to work and I’m grateful for all the work they’ve done to allow me to be the nurse I am today," Matthew Brown, who works his dream job at Atrium Health, said.
Brown was born in Jamaica and moved to the US when he was 4 and despite both his parents working as teachers, college always seemed a bit out of reach because of his undocumented status. Brown says it's a dream he wasn’t sure he’d ever realize.
"I spoke with my parents many times throughout my HS journey and the question was always 'how are you going to go to college?'" Brown said. "It can be very difficult, at some points you don’t know which way to turn you don’t know what the next answer will be."
That’s where Golden Doors Scholars came in. The program helps pay for tuition and room and board for high-achieving students who can’t access federal help. The founder of Red Ventures created the program a decade ago after learning a woman who worked for him couldn’t afford to send her son to college.
Giselle Toledo helps run the Golden Door Scholars program and explained, "When he saw the GPS of the student was 4.0 and he asked the student what school he wanted to go to and he said Harvard but I don’t qualify for federal aid, that’s how it started. He is student number zero because he’s the first one we sent to college."
They also offer mentoring and continued guidance throughout college and beyond.
Brown believes that's just as important as financial help.
"They have allowed me to see that I can be the best I can be despite my immigrant status," Brown said.
He said the money is just part of it.
"Of course, it was part of it! But that was not the primary thing you took away," Brown said. "Absolutely. I will say my parents were glad there was financial support but for me just knowing I could go to college and find a set of individuals like me who understood my story. I knew they had similar stories and we could all strive to be better together really inspired me."
He was so inspired that he’s now working as a mentor to other Golden scholars – most of whom are success stories with 97% of Golden Door Scholars graduating in 4 years.
"Looking back and reminding myself about all the trials and triumphs along the way, me being in this position as a nurse is a dream come true," Brown said.
They only open applications for the scholarship once a year and the organizers say they want to reach as many undocumented/DACA students as possible. The deadline to apply is Oct. 1.
Interested high school students can apply here: https://www.goldendoorscholars.org/apply