Entire third grade class shocked with full-ride college scholarships during assembly

PHOENIX (KPNX) – Parents at an elementary school in Arizona were in for the surprise of their lives when what was thought to be a standard assembly turned into so much more.

During the assembly Monday, school district officials announced that every third grader at Bernard Black Elementary will be receiving a full-ride scholarship to the college of their choice in the future.

Those full rides, provided to 63 students, include tuition, books, and room and board – all completely paid for by the Rosztoczy Foundation and their College Promise program.

“The goal, through the generous officer of this family, is that finances will not be the barrier, that college is an option for every third grader right here at Bernard Black,” Roosevelt School District Superintendent Quintin Boyce said.

Parents in the audience couldn’t contain their cheers and tears of joy at the generous surprise.

“I just couldn’t hold it back because it just means for sure my son is going to college. I don’t have to think about it. He’s going,” Brandon Gailliard said of his son Noah.

Even siblings were in shock.

“My little sister, a 9-year-old, already has four years of college paid off. That’s just shocking,” Aaliyah Warner’s older brother said.

While the third graders still have quite some time before graduating high school, the future is already bright and promising.

This isn’t the first time the Rosztoczy Foundation guaranteed a college future for students in the Phoenix area. In 2012, about 80 third graders at Michael Anderson School in Avondale were gifted the same promise.