Platinum Sponsors:

On July 31st, Year Up's Class of July 2007 filled the Boston Park Plaza to capacity, celebrating their graduation with more than 500 family members, corporate partners, program supporters, and community leaders. Platinum sponsors for the event included Bank of America, Ipswitch, Microsoft, and State Street Corporation. Additional table sponsors included Children's Hospital Boston, Cambridge College, Commongood Careers, Digitas, Kforce, Partners HealthCare, and TAC Worldwide. We were honored to have Denise Kaigler, Head of Global Corporate Communications and Corporate Citizenship, Reebok and Corporate Communications U.S., adidas Group, as our keynote speaker.
Mary Finlay, Deputy Chief Information Officer at Partners HealthCare, was presented with Year Up's Urban Empowerment Award. This award recognizes individuals who have made an incredible impact on their community by empowering urban young adults to reach their potential. Teresa Hawkins was presented with Year Up's Outstanding Mentor Award and Leon C. Bradley with our Outstanding Apprenticeship Supervisor Award. As with each celebration, Year Up's graduates inspired the audience by sharing their personal experiences and defining their visions of true success. Aftab Kazmi reflected on the importance of learning from mistakes and making the right choices. "... it's up to us if we want a better life. We need to start today by making the right choices. And we have to keep making the right choices so that we can all reach our true potential." Graduate Rob Workman spoke about deciding to make a change in his life. "I knew I needed to make a change. Year up was my last hope at not becoming a statistic. I am determined to reach my potential." He left his fellow graduates with words of encouragement and inspiration. "One year ago, we were unaware what our potential was and where our future could lead. Today, not only are we reaching our potential - we are the future!"

Year Up is honored to announce the Class of July 2007 awards and scholarships:
The Dave Retik Award for Excellence: Billy Brito, Cindy Hernandez, and Michael McGarrity The Chris Mello Award for Leadership: Samuel Villegas, Carlos Bello, and Kamille Reaves The Tijani Award for Courage: Henok Mehari Microsoft Award for Achievement: Fredy Guerrero
Boston Rotary Club Scholarships: Genesis Ramos and Ito Sanchez