By: Jasmine West
Photo credit: Monica Morgan Photography
The applause inside Huntington Tower in downtown Detroit carried the sound of a city that knows what it means to bet on its own children.
It was not the kind of applause that comes only because a name is called or a check is handed over. It came from parents who had watched their children push through long nights and hard seasons. It came from grandparents, aunties, uncles, teachers, mentors and community leaders who understood that a scholarship ceremony in Detroit is rarely just about money. It is about the village. It is about who showed up. It is about who kept believing.
The Michigan Chronicle Huntington Bank SWAG Awards marked its 10th anniversary this year with a room full of students whose lives are just beginning to stretch into possibility. SWAG, which stands for Students Wired for Achievement and Greatness, has become one of the city’s clearest examples of what happens when business, media and community commit to young people for the long haul.
Hiram E. Jackson, chief executive officer of Real Times Media and publisher of the Michigan Chronicle, opened the evening by placing the milestone in perspective.
“We’ve been doing this for 10 years. That’s a major milestone,” Jackson said.
He reminded the room that many corporate partnerships begin with excitement, run for a few years, and quietly disappear. SWAG did not. For a decade, the Michigan Chronicle and Huntington Bank have continued to honor young people not only for academic promise, but for resilience, character and the ability to keep moving when life has required more from them than most people ever see.
Jackson recalled the beginning of the program, when Huntington Bank Chairman Gary Torgow challenged the Michigan Chronicle team to develop a scholarship effort that would reward families who valued education. The charge was specific. He wanted a program that supported high school seniors who had done the work to prepare for their next step, especially those who had faced challenges and still found a way forward.
That founding idea still shaped the room 10 years later.
“We value young people who have overcome some stuff, some early challenges,” Jackson said. “We know that the skill of overcoming some difficulties will suit you well in the future.”
He spoke to the students as young people already carrying the kind of life experience that builds adults with depth. There would be job rejections, family illnesses, failed relationships, career disappointments and business setbacks ahead, he said. But the same courage that brought them to that room would help them fight through whatever came next.
Jackson also turned his attention to the families.
“To all the parents, the uncles, the aunties, the family friends, all of you who have poured love into these families, thank you,” he said.
That gratitude became one of the central truths of the evening. The students were the honorees, but no one pretended they arrived alone. Their names were called because somewhere behind each of them was someone who prayed, pushed, drove, corrected, encouraged, sacrificed, and refused to let them believe less about themselves.
For Torgow, the evening was rooted in kindness and responsibility. He described SWAG as a program that opens doors and reminds people what is possible when a community invests in its future. He said more than 150 Detroit high school graduates have benefited from the program over the past decade, each continuing toward higher education and promising careers.
But his message moved beyond scholarships. Torgow spoke at length about kindness as something practical and powerful. He told stories about communities strengthened by human connection and shared the story of Roy, a homeless man he regularly sees near Grand River and the Lodge Freeway. Through small exchanges over the years, Torgow said, Roy reminded him that every human being carries dignity and the ability to bless someone else.
That lesson connected directly to the students seated in front of him. They were not only receiving support. They were being called to carry it forward.
“Your hard work, your efforts to make a difference in the lives of others is just beginning,” Torgow said.
Detroit City Council President James Tate added another deeply personal reflection. He told the students that school was not easy for him. From kindergarten through high school, he said, he was kicked out, put back or transferred nine times. When he attended Wayne State University, he entered through a probationary program.
His message was clear: a difficult beginning should never be allowed to define a person’s future.
“If people solely judged me on my grades or challenges that I faced early in life, I wouldn’t be standing here today,” Tate said.
He credited the teachers, mentors and family members who saw something in him before he could fully see it in himself. That, he said, is what makes programs like SWAG necessary. They recognize potential in all its forms, including in students whose lives may not have followed a perfect or predictable path.
This year, SWAG awarded $110,000 in scholarships to students continuing their education across Michigan and beyond. The awards included eight $5,000 scholarships, three $10,000 scholarships, one $15,000 scholarship and one $25,000 scholarship. Each student walked to the stage with music they selected, turning the scholarship presentations into small portraits of personality, pride and family celebration.
Among the $5,000 scholarship recipients was Fernando Koya, a graduate of International High School, who will attend Lawrence Technological University to major in robotic engineering. His passion for innovation and problem-solving was lifted up as part of what will carry him forward.
Neja Fleming, who plans to attend Wayne State University to study biological sciences on a pre-med track, was recognized for her compassion and commitment to caring for others. Reed Foster, a graduate of University of Detroit Jesuit, will head to Hampton University to study finance, with a focus on understanding how financial systems can create opportunities.
Kennedy King, a Cass Technical High School graduate, will also attend Hampton University, where she plans to major in political science. Sarai Love-Carter will attend Wayne State University to study nursing, a path that reflects what presenters called her compassion and heart for service.
Shayla Westbrook, a graduate of Crockett Midtown High School, will attend Michigan State University to study green or environmental-related fields, while Diamond Wilson, a Detroit Leadership Academy graduate, will attend Saginaw Valley State University to major in criminal justice. Diamond was recognized for her determination and her commitment to creating safer and stronger communities.
The $10,000 scholarship recipients included Jordan Reed, a Renaissance High School graduate who will attend Michigan State University to study psychology. Cortez Triplett, a Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men graduate, will attend Saginaw Valley State University to major in nursing. Naveah Wheeler, a Cody High School graduate, will attend Bowling Green State University to study elementary education, carrying with her a passion for teaching, creativity and shaping young minds.
The $15,000 scholarship went to Kristen Morton-Williams, who is headed to Grand Valley State University. The moment carried weight in the room as another young scholar stepped into the next chapter of her education with the backing of a community standing behind her.
Then came the top award of the evening.
William Edward Jr. was named the $25,000 scholarship recipient. An artist whose work spans posters, graphics, photography, film, painting, sculpture and jewelry, William was celebrated for a creative journey that has already begun making room for other young people. His dream is to give Detroit youth more artistic opportunities. He has also designed jerseys for Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
When asked to say a few words, William thanked his family, friends and supporters, including a program that helped connect him to creative opportunities. He became emotional when speaking about his father.
“My dad has been my number one supporter,” he said.
It was one of the night’s most human moments — a young man standing before a room full of adults, holding a scholarship and a future, while still being visibly moved by the parent who helped him get there.
The 10th anniversary celebration also showed what SWAG can become after high school. The alumni scholarship, launched last year, was created to support past recipients who are continuing their educational or trade journeys. This year’s alumni honoree, Papia Aziz, a 2016 SWAG alumna, has built a career in nursing across Metro Detroit and recently earned her master’s degree as a family nurse practitioner.
A first-generation college student, Aziz said the award showed her what support and guidance can make possible. Her goal, she said, is to use her education to improve access to health care and address health disparities in underserved communities.
“I would not be where I am today without the support of the SWAG family,” Aziz said.
Arthur Heritage, a 2021 SWAG recipient, brought the alumni story even closer. Five years ago, he said, he was sitting where the new scholars sat. Then a Cass Tech senior preparing to attend Hampton University as a first-generation college student, he had dreams of serving people, making his family proud and creating opportunities for others who came from neighborhoods like his.
He graduated a year early from Hampton University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and is now attending Wayne State University Law School on the Judge Damon J. Keith full-tuition scholarship. He has worked in government, served in public spaces and is now a candidate for state representative in Michigan’s 9th District.
Heritage told the students that their circumstances do not determine their future, their ZIP codes do not determine their destiny, and the doubts of others do not define them.
“The only thing that ultimately defines you is your willingness to keep moving forward,” he said.
He also told them not to treat SWAG as a one-night recognition. The scholarship, he said, comes with relationships, mentors and access to people who genuinely want to see them succeed. He urged them to stay connected to the Michigan Chronicle, to Huntington Bank and to the people who opened doors for them.
“Success is not achieved alone,” Heritage said.
The evening closed with the kind of charge that only Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch NAACP and pastor of Fellowship Chapel, could deliver. A longtime supporter of SWAG, Anthony stepped forward with a message built like a poem, a sermon and a command.
“It’s your turn,” he told the students.
He repeated the phrase until it became the rhythm of the room. It was their turn to learn, earn, build, lead, turn away from negativity, and turn toward excellence. Their turn to carry forward the unfinished work of those who came before them. Their turn to do something with what had been placed in their hands.
“Well, now that you got it, let’s go out and do something with it,” Anthony said.
That was the deeper meaning of the 10th anniversary. SWAG is not simply a scholarship program. It is a handoff. It is one generation telling the next that Detroit is not only watching them, but counting on them. It is a reminder that investment in young people must be more than a slogan. It has to show up in dollars, in mentorship, in relationships, in public recognition and in continued presence long after the ceremony ends.
Since 2015, nearly $2 million has been invested in the futures of more than 200 students through SWAG. But the numbers, as important as they are, do not fully capture what happened in that room. The real story was in the students’ faces, in the families’ applause, in the alumni who came back, and in the adults who understood that the future of Detroit was not an abstract idea.
It was standing on stage.
It was headed to Wayne State, Hampton, Michigan State, Lawrence Tech, Grand Valley, Saginaw Valley and Bowling Green.
It was studying nursing, biomedical engineering, robotics, finance, political science, psychology, criminal justice, education, art and more.
It was creative, determined, emotional, brilliant and still becoming.
After 10 years, the Michigan Chronicle Huntington Bank SWAG Awards has become a scholarship ceremony, a family reunion, a community promise and a mirror held up to Detroit’s young people.
The reflection was clear.
They are ready. And now, it is their turn.
