On January 24, 2006, Year Up’s seventh class filled the Sheraton Boston Constitution Ballroom to capacity, celebrating their graduation with more than 400 family members, corporate partners, program supporters, and community leaders. The platinum sponsors of the event were Alta Communications, Bank of America, Comcast, and TAC Worldwide. Table sponsors include CBS4, Digitas, Partners HealthCare and Quinn Printing. We were honored to have Liz Walker from CBS4 as our keynote speaker.

Senator Jarrett Barrios and Linda Swardlick Smith were 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.

As with each celebration, Year Up's graduates inspired the audience by sharing their personal experiences and defining their vision of true success. Jarrod Mitchell emphasized the importance of education in empowering yourself and left his fellow graduates with the following quote: "You ARE educated, your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as a ticket to the good life, but I am asking you to think of it as a ticket to change the world."

Fellow graduate Darlene Medina shared with her classmates why she applied to the program. “Before I came to Year Up I was unsure of what I wanted to do with my life, but I always knew that I wanted to make the best of it. I wanted something to look forward to, something that was worth my aspiration, and I believed that I owed it to myself to make my dreams come true, to make my days count and to make something of myself.”

Year Up is honored to announce the Class Seven Dave Retik and Chris Mello award recipients, continuing to honor the former Alta Communications employees and Year Up supporters:

The Dave Retik Award for Excellence: Elijah Almestica and Emmanuel Twagirayezu

The Chris Mello Award for Leadership: Heleno Ferfoglia and Jarrod Mitchell

New Horizons Awards for Technical Excellence: William Huynh, Steven Ramos, Joseph Petrucci and Diane Figueiredo

SIM’s Award for Technical Achievement: Saskia James

We are also honored to present the Harvard Extension School Scholarships to: Abdul Tijani and Diana Sabogal