Celebrating Remarkable Achievements: Big Brothers Big Sisters Graduation Celebration 2025
ATLANTA -This June, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta and Chattahoochee Valley hosted our largest Graduation Celebration yet, honoring 81 Senior Littles with nearly 300 attendees cheering them on. Held at Georgia State University, the event was a testament to the power of mentorship, community support, and the generosity of partners.
Watch the 2025 Graduation Celebration on YouTube
Check out the 2025 Graduation Celebration photo gallery
The celebration featured notable speakers, including Nelson Boyce, a BBBSMA Board Member, and Trolena Smith, Corporate Responsibility Analyst at State Farm, who delivered an inspiring keynote on the importance of purposefully navigating life. The event was hosted by Jeffelyn Martinez, Bilingual Level Up Lead Mentor at Lithonia Middle School, and Da’Shawn, a Little Brother from the Beyond School Walls Program at Google, with Senior Little Sister Frida Nieves offering the invocation.
Special performances and speeches were guaranteed highlights of the day. Graduating Little Brother David Williams provided a musical performance, while Senior Match Speakers Jaylen Butler, Braddon Calloway, Denea Burton, Kiara Smith, Laila Terry, Elisheba Butts, Benjamin Adkins, and Tomas Bracero shared their growth and experience in the program.
Following the Recognition of Seniors, Alumni Big & Little Brother Jonathan and Aidan warmly welcomed the new Class of 2025 into their official roles as BBBSMA Alumni. This took place during a special pinning ceremony where Bigs presented their Littles with new alumni medals, and in turn, the Littles pinned their Bigs, marking their transition into BBBSMA Alumni together.
The Class of 2025 celebrated substantial achievements, with 99% graduating on time and 93% pursuing further education, entrepreneurship, or military careers. Nearly $50,000 in scholarships were awarded thanks to our corporate partners!
Fiserv awarded a $2,500 scholarship to Ahyonna Graham, who plans to attend The Southern University of Baton Rouge. Accenture presented a $1,500 scholarship to Deasjiah Tutts, who plans to invest in her barbering business and enhance her education in hairstyling techniques. Her goal is to create a space that offers affordable, culturally relevant haircut services, particularly for Black communities.
Deloitte awarded a $5,000 scholarship to Sadman Zahin, Nia Martin, Benjamin Adkinson, and Frida Nieves. These recipients, successfully navigated a competitive selection process to compete with other Littles from across the United States.
A particularly touching moment was the presentation of the Benjamin “Ben” Rohrer Scholarship, awarded in memory of Ben Rohrer, a dedicated mentor and community supporter. This year’s $2,500 scholarship, presented by Ben’s beloved wife and children, was awarded to Joseph Smith. Joseph plans to attend Georgia Southern University.
The Beyond School Walls program also made significant contributions, awarding $7,000 to seven seniors from Cross Keys High School: Ashley Urieta, Ariadna Arizmendi, Jose Vazquez Lopez, Jilari Escalante Ortiz, Yoselin Suastegui-Pano, Melissa Valdez Muriilo, and Elvin Ramirez and $12,000 to twelve seniors from Chamblee High School: Senaiya Brown, Deanna Gant, Jannath Jamal, Sadman Zahin, Frida Nieves, Brandon Alvarado, Timia Coleman, Simeon Stephens, Tristan Adams, Aaron Gerstle, Riasha Ullah, and Randy Perez Lopez, thanks to our partners Insight Global and Cox Enterprises.
Two seniors from Mays High School, representing the Beyond School Walls program at Google, have been awarded $1,000 scholarships. Congratulations to Aubrey Hunt and Israel Cambric! Additionally, two seniors from North Atlanta High School, Alexa Diaz and Jordan Strange, are also receiving $1,000 scholarships through the BSW program at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Closing the scholarship presentation, our Big Futures program awarded $1,500 scholarships to three Littles: Damian Rivera, Jasmine Scott, and Chanel Crieghton, marking their support for the first time independently.
Congratulations to all the scholarship recipients for their hard-work. Your dedication to achieving excellence is truly inspiring, and we are so proud of everything you have accomplished!
A heartfelt thank-you to our scholarship sponsors for helping launch our Littles into their next chapter: Accenture, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Cox Enterprise, Deloitte, Fiserv, Google, Insight Global, KPMG and our Big Futures program.
We’re also grateful to our Beyond School Walls partners: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Cox, Google, Insight Global, NCR Voyix, UPS
And to our Big Futures partners: Accenture, Aprio, Clorox, Fifth Third Bank, Fiserv, Kaiser Permanente Georgia, Porsche, PPG, Statefarm, Wellstar, Whataburger
Special thanks to our In-Kind donors, Champs Sports and Kendra Scott for their thoughtful graduation gifts, making the day even more memorable.
Here’s to a bright future for the Class of 2025! Check out the photo gallery here to relive the profound moments from our celebration. Witness the joy and pride radiating from each Little, their families, and Bigs who have supported them on this incredible journey.