About Us
The Primary Project was founded by a group of five former Wethersfield High School students.
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In an evolving world where high school diplomas are often not enough to obtain a living wage, we believe every student should have the ability to pursue a post secondary education without feeling burdened by the cost.
Our core values are represented by our Primary Pillars. The recipients of The Primary Project’s scholarship awards will have proved through their applications that they use our Primary Pillars to be a role model for their communities, cultures, and upcoming generations.
Community
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A sense of belonging and community within students allows them to adjust to different environments, a crucial skill for a successful postsecondary education experience. Students from other towns, such as Hartford, who attend Wethersfield High School not only have a sense of community within their hometown, but also have become a crucial part of the school's community. Through sports teams, clubs, attending town events, and doing community service- students contribute to our town. We want to recognize these students and their ties to our community.
Our Core Values
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Advocacy
Throughout our years in the Wethersfield High School community, we have seen a great need for advocacy from students and staff for marginalized communities. With our scholarship program, we want to support CREC Choice students from Hartford face scholarship availability inequality. We hope to see each of our recipients embody this characteristic as well. Whether it be advocating for themselves or standing up for their peers, we think it's important for students to raise their voices and value them in order to positively impact their communities.
Culture
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This encompasses our desire for recipients to, not only impact youth culture positively, but also carry their ethnic cultures with them to diversify our society. By understanding the cultures that impact our applicants, we are able to obtain an image of the diversity in our town and schools. This allows upcoming generations to grow up in a more accepting and understanding environment. We encourage our recipients to value their cultures and to be proud of them.
The Team
I’m Yasmin Lazu! I'm studying Film/Animation/Video at Rhode Island School of Design and a former student at Wethersfield High School.
I took interest in this project because I noticed many injustices and missed opportunities for certain groups of students (mainly concerning black/brown students) and felt that it was necessary I do my part in building a better path for them. Moreover, I hope this project will grow and help people realize that in order to help the world we must help our own communities first.
ylazu@risd.edu | @yasmin.lazu
Yasmin Lazu
Hi- I’m Erin Robles. I'm a second year film student at the School of Visual Arts. I want to help bring this project to life because, as of right now, CREC Open Choice students who attend Wethersfield High School can’t apply to local scholarships.
They are a huge part of our community and deserve an equal chance when applying for and receiving scholarships.
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In addition, I think we, as a town, should strive for change. If you believe something is wrong, chances are other people think the same way. It only takes a few to spark change and I'm excited for this project to open a conversation.
erinrxbles@gmail.com | @erinrxbles
Erin Robles
Hi! My name is Lauren and I go to Roger Williams University. I’m pursuing a major in biology and a minor in psychology.
I’m part of this project because I have seen the inequalities for Hartford students by the Wethersfield Public School systems and would like to be a part of changing that. All students should have an opportunity for a local scholarship supporting them and their future. I hope The Primary Project can provide that to as many people as possible.
mcal.lauren@gmail.com | @lauren.mcal
Lauren McAlister
Hey guys, my name is Amayia Giscombe and I am part of the class of 2023. I am currently attending Elmira College in upstate New York as a nursing major with an art minor. My future plans involve midwifery school or if things don't turn out as expected- gynecology!
I'm a huge advocate for fighting racial injustices and discrimination and I hope that on this journey I manage to make a difference.
agiscombe23@elmira.edu | @mayia_peace_tvdlover
Amayia Giscombe
Hi, I’m Kiara. I’m a student at Carnegie Mellon University and a former salutatorian at Wethersfield High School. Throughout my time at WHS, I noticed a plethora of micro aggressions and injustices that occurred with students of color. As a hispanic student, I found these experiences to be unacceptable. I am hopeful that change will ensue with this project and many other ones.
I’m excited to be a part of this scholarship project so we can help marginalized students get more equal opportunities, in post secondary school, financially. In addition, we hope the students from outside of Wethersfield feel cared for and are recognized as a part of our community.
kzla02@gmail.com | @kiara.z.l