Independent School Alliance Honors Cole Thomas

Crossroads senior Cole Thomas was recognized as a scholarship honoree during a recent gala held by the Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs.

 

Cole received $1,450 toward college from the Azaliy Hekymara Memorial Scholarship as the third-place winner of an essay contest. The scholarship fund is named after the late son of the alliance’s founding director, Manasa Tanglin.

 

In the fall, Cole will attend Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, where he will join the men’s basketball team.

 

“When I received this scholarship, I was overwhelmed with joy and thankfulness,” Cole says. “The same organization that helped me get into the independent school of my choice now awarded me with money to attend another school of my choice. Words cannot describe how thankful I am for this organization.”

 

Cole was joined by his family as well as Head of School Bob Riddle and several Crossroads administrators, teachers and parents at the Alliance’s annual Impact Awards Dinner, which was held April 20 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills.

 

Bob is currently serving as the board president of the Alliance, a Culver City-based nonprofit. The organization—whose staff includes Crossroads alumna Kaela Farrise ’10—helps students of color gain admission to independent schools like Crossroads, which is an Alliance member. Crossroads alumnus Baron Davis ’97 was honored at last year’s gala.

 

“What an incredibly powerful evening,” says Crossroads history teacher Piya Narayen, who taught Cole when he was a sophomore. “I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to watch Cole receive his honor and speak so eloquently at a public forum. To watch him go and speak so confidently and truthfully and with such power made me doubly proud of him. And what a great organization doing immensely important work.”