Graduating Detroit H.S. senior has more than $1.7M in scholarship offers

When it comes to interacting with people, Tatyana Alves only knows one way to present herself — the positive way.

Alves’ “great morning” greetings — both verbal and written — she greets folks with at the start of her day; along with her typical “beautiful day” wishes for others she meets, and the usual “amazing” reply she always responds with whenever she's asked about her present situation, all are parts of the 17-year-old Detroiter’s signature vibe.

And no one has experienced Alves’ vibe more than her classmates in the first graduating class at The School at Marygrove (Class of 2023), where she was voted “Most Positive.”

“I just want other people to thrive,” Alves, one of 95 graduating high school seniors at Marygrove, said when asked why she places so much consistent emphasis on expressing positivity. “Being positive helped me to find my purpose, and I think I’ve made an influence on a lot of people.”

In 2019, Alves, along with 119 other students and their families, took a chance on a new Detroit entrance-examination school committed to developing “critical thinkers and community-minded citizens who have the skills and knowledge to be makers and leaders in the 21st century.” Her focus was on social justice and engineering. For Alves, the decision has paid off big time, including more than $1.7 million in scholarship offers for the soon-to-be Eastern Michigan University-bound student, who will walk across the graduation stage with her classmates on May 31 at the Music Hall.

“Our school isn’t as well known, given that it is new. But to the incoming high school freshmen in Detroit, I would like to say that Marygrove is an option,” said Alves, who looks forward to studying business administration at Eastern Michigan, which aligns with her desire to be an entrepreneur. “I wanted to be challenged and I feel that an application (entrance-examination) school does that. I feel that application high schools are filled with a lot of opportunities.”

About 5:30 on Wednesday afternoon, with a trip to Cedar Point coming up the next morning and less than 48 hours before the last official school day for Marygrove seniors, Alves looked like someone without a worry in the world as she was joined on the front porch of her Bagley Community home by her fellow classmate and good buddy Julisa Shadwick. Planted less than a quarter-mile away from Palmer Park Preparatory Academy (3901 Margareta) where the two first met in the school cafeteria during their seventh grade year, they turned their attention to cones — Alves: cookies and cream. And Shadwick: Superman flavor, purchased from Zack’s ice cream truck, whose music matched the calmness in the air. A trip down memory lane follows shortly afterward. And in between the flurry of smiles and giggles, there's a reminder that the Class of 2023 at Marygrove and schools across the world all share something unforgettable because of COVID-19.

“Honestly, I was elated when I found out we would be out of school for two weeks. And then it turned into a year and I thought that maybe I spoke too soon,” Shadwick said, as she recalled when in-school learning during her freshman year was halted in March 2020 because of the pandemic and was replaced by a virtual learning experience, which then extended through her entire sophomore year at Marygrove.

Judging from the emotions expressed by the two dear friends, that pandemic period was even more daunting for Marygrove’s future “Most Positive” student.

“It was one of the roughest transitions that I’ve ever been through,” said Alves, who found herself not only physically cut off from classmates, but also away from the “beautiful” physical space her school occupies on the former Marygrove College campus — which was another reason behind her high school choice. “I was in a dark space, but I got out of it.”

Alves explained that her great escape from a “dark space” entailed applying positivity to goals that became life-changing for her. For example, a promise from her mother that she could get a job if she was able to earn a 4.0 grade-point average for a semester, pushed her to lift her GPA. to a 3.3 from a 2.7 And after Alves victoriously brought home the 4.0, she got a job as a sales associate at a nearby CVS, which also gave her increased confidence and independence.

But, “If I was going to be independent, I had to be fully independent. So, I couldn’t get a job and then ask my mom to drive me to work,” said Alves, who achieved her next goal of getting a driver's license and was rewarded with a vehicle for her to drive to school and work. “I was in the 11th grade and I was 15-turning-16, and I said this is the time when I need to start turning into a woman.”

Even though Alves speaks confidently about who she is as a woman and a person, those statements often are quickly followed by a smile, or even a giggle, as if she's thinking about some of the people she credits with helping her to achieve success. One of those people is the “amazing” Faith Crosby, who teaches English and psychology at Marygrove. And there's her science teacher, Kerry Williams, whose assignments are “always engaging.” There's more names on a certificate that Alves keeps in a neat, expansive, folder, among the many scholarship awards she has received. The names on the certificate are just first names of classmates that are dear to her. Along with “Taty” (that's Alves' nickname) and Julisa, there's Briana, Mackenzie, Makayla and Alayasia. Together, they are the “Cutest Crew” with substance in Marygrove’s Class of 2023.

“We all have some of the same ideas, dreams and goals. But at the same time, we’re all completely different and I think that is why we have been friends for so long,” Shadwick said. “I’ve been in ‘friends groups’ where you couldn’t say certain things without being judged, but it’s not like that with this group. We all support one another.”

Alves and Shadwick explained Wednesday that college will take members of their group in different directions. But Alves says she has a simple, positive — of course — solution for maintaining their bond.

“We’re going to make that drive,” Alves declared. “We’re going to make that couple-minute drive; that hour drive; whatever the case may be; but we are going to see each other. And we can always talk on the phone, too.”

Another person Alves will be seeing and speaking to often during her upcoming college journey is her mother, Acquanetta Windham. This past Mother’s Day, Alves said her mother is who she modeled her positive approach to life after. On Wednesday evening, a few steps from the family’s front porch, Windham used different words, but they had the same meaning.

“I’m not an optimistic person, I’m a realist. So I don’t know where she got it from,” said Windham, who also is a proud mom to Sasha Alves, Aaliyah Canty and Victoria Canty. “But she (Tatyana) is my first baby going to college, and I’m so proud of her. When she first went to high school, it was kind of rough and she really didn’t know if she wanted to continue at Marygrove. But she exceeded all expectations. Even during the loss of my dad (Gabriel Banks) and different challenges, she just continued to prosper. I tell her 'Don’t let yesterday be your today.' And I also tell her 'Don’t let the unnecessary stress overwhelm you.' Keep your vibe and stay exactly as you are.”

Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and lifelong lover of Detroit culture in all of its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at: stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott's stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/.

Tatyana Alves’ tips for identifying scholarship dollars 

Tatyana Alves, a member of the first high school graduating class at The School at Marygrove, reports receiving more than $1.7 million in scholarships, after launching her scholarship search in earnest during her 11th grade year.

Following are approaches and resources that the Eastern Michigan University-bound Alves said were helpful to her:

• Stay connected to teachers and adults that have taken an interest in your future: Become acquainted with and exhaust all available resources and assistance provided by your school and school staff, but also make your scholarship search known to adults in your extended family and community network.

• Stay locked into your scholarship search during the entire day, including while participating in student clubs and extracurricular activities: Alves participated in numerous school clubs and community activities as a high school student, including the volunteer club, poetry club, fashion club, InsideOut Citywide Poets, Global G.L.O.W. and assistant girls middle school basketball coach at Palmer Park Preparatory Academy. Each club and activity provide an opportunity to share information with students and adults that can aid your scholarship search.

• Incorporate screen time into your scholarship search: According to a survey released in 2022 by the nonprofit Common Sense Media, kids and teens in America are spending more time than ever using screens and social media. From 2019 to 2021, on average, daily screen time for teens (ages 13 to 18) increased from seven hours and 22 minutes to eight hours and 39 minutes. Some of those precious hours can be used to find scholarship dollars. For example, Alves’ classmate at The School at Marygrove, Julisa Shadwick, while on TikTok, discovered RaiseMe, which Alves credits for launching her successful scholarship search.

• “Be present in the moment”: Attitude is everything for Alves, who encourages students to apply positivity and to “be present in the moment” while seeking scholarships to pay for college.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Graduating Marygrove senior has more than $1.7M in scholarship offers