Weekly Media Roundup: February 28, 2018

Kevin Durant Donates $10 Million to Prince George’s Co. Students (WTOP, District of Columbia)

NBA star Kevin Durant has donated $10 million to help underprivileged students from his hometown go to college, according to WTOP. His donation will help start the College Track afterschool program in Prince George’s County, which will offer tutoring, test preparation, financial aid information and other college readiness services to local students. “I want to do my part, whatever it is,” Durant said. “If College Track students want to be the next Steve Jobs or the next influencer or the next tastemakers, they can get there.”

Lincoln Students’ Hearts Go Out to Florida (KOLN/KGIN, Nebraska)

Lincoln Southeast High School’s Knight House afterschool program participants have sent hundreds of notes of support to students at Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of the recent school shooting that took the lives of 17 students and teachers. Knight House students crafted more than 200 paper hearts with messages of love and encouragement and sent them to Florida, where they will decorate the halls of Stoneman Douglas as students return to class. “It feels amazing to know that I could help people feel so much better with how they’re dealing with this,” Lincoln Southeast student Maggi Oziah told KOLN/KGIN.

Kids to Dabble in Science and Technology This Weekend at Discovery Festival (Durango Herald, Colorado)

More than 1,000 students flocked to Fort Lewis College this weekend for the annual Colorado Discovery Festival. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Colorado holds the event each year to introduce students to STEM careers by giving them a chance to learn about robotics, forensics, rocket propulsion, neurology and more, according to the Durango Herald. The festival hosted 18 exhibitors, ranging from health care centers to science institutes. “There is a world of opportunity out there, and it’s theirs to explore and go for,” executive director Anita Carpenter said.

How This Penn Tutoring Group Is Rethinking How to Teach ‘Traditional Black History Month’ (Daily Pennsylvanian, Pennsylvania)

A dozen Philadelphia students are exploring Black History Month with a specific focus on the continent of Africa with the afterschool African Community Learning Program. Through ACLP, youths from immigrant families work on homework, play games and learn about Africa with University of Pennsylvania undergraduate and graduate students. The students are celebrating Black History Month by each choosing an influential African to research and give a presentation on. “I remember how it was trying to adjust to a new environment and a new culture,” medical student and Cote d’Ivoire native Aminata Traore told the Daily Pennsylvanian. “I like having the opportunity to help kids manage some of the situations that I went through when I came to the United States.”