Henrry Polanco has busted it for most of his life, from holding down two jobs as a Princeton High School student to now working by day and going to community college by night.
By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Henrry Polanco has busted it for most of his life, from holding down two jobs as a Princeton High School student to now working by day and going to community college by night.
The 22-year-old, a native of Guatemala City who emigrated as a teenager, aims to work in finance one day. In pursing those dreams, he is one of more than 100 Princeton High School graduates that a local nonprofit is helping attend college.
101:, sometimes called 101 Fund, has been around since the 1970s. At the time, it started small — helping only a handful of students. Since then, the all-volunteer organization has grown to dole out around $130,000 to $180,000 each year in scholarships to students from low-income families, said Riva Levy, president of the nonprofit.
”As long as a kid is in school and doing whatever they need to do, we provide the money,” she said.
101: gets its money through donations. The big fundraiser of the year, scheduled for today (Friday) at 7:30 p.m. at the Cannon Club on Prospect Avenue in Princeton, is looking to bring in $50,000. The money goes to help students like Mr. Polanco.
He came to America when he was 13, first living in Trenton and then moving to Princeton in 2006. The oldest of three brothers, he went to high school and held down two jobs working nights and weekends.
”So I always was extremely busy. And I didn’t really concentrate on school work because I had to work to help my Mom pay the rent,” he said. “So it was really hard to stay focused on high school.”
As a senior, he started to think about life after graduation. A guidance counselor told him about 101: and he applied.
After graduation, he continued to go to school, but when his parents divorced, he had to take on more responsibility as the oldest son. He said his mother was thrilled when he told her that he was going back to Mercer County Community College.
”It took me a couple of years to put myself together to finally have the right attitude and know what I wanted to study,” he said.
Mr. Polanco, working at the PNC Bank in the Princeton Shopping Center, started taking two night courses Tuesdays and Thursdays in math and English this semester. His goal is to transfer to a local college, such as Rider University.
101: provides Mercer College students with a full scholarship to pay for their tuition. Mr. Polanco covers books and other expenses with his income.
”I feel really lucky to have it,” he said of the scholarship, “because not many people have the same opportunity to have somebody pay for your education.”
He said one day he would like to donate to the fund as a way of saying thank you.
To learn more about the organization, visit www.fund101.org.