As the school year comes to a close, Investing in Kinds (INK!) and Take Stock in Children celebrated their 2025 class of graduating seniors with a special ceremony on Monday, May 12.
This year marks Take Stock in Children’s 30th year of operation in the state of Florida. As the exclusive local affiliate for the statewide Take Stock in Children organization, INK! is proud to recognize its 25th graduating class of 13 exceptional students.
INK! is an educational nonprofit organization in Florida that supports the St. Johns County school district. It’s recognized as the sole direct support organization for the school district, providing funding and resourcing for thousands of students and teachers.
The Take Stock in Children program is an initiative geared towards providing a unique opportunity for deserving, low-income youth through education.
“For us, this is an opportunity to help students break that cycle of poverty,” said Cathy Newman, INK!’s executive director. “The success of hosting the program over the last 25 years and the success of helping these students across the stage for graduation is what we’re celebrating.”
To qualify for the Take Stock in Children program, students must meet a restricted income level. INK! works with schools to get in touch with parents at the midway point of a student’s eighth-grade year to discuss the possibility of applying for — and eventually joining — the program.
If a student is accepted, they sign a contract that promises they will stay in school, stay out of trouble by remaining drug and crime-free, and maintain a minimum 2.5 GPA. Students are also required to meet regularly with their mentors to discuss college exploration, career paths and more.
Students must join before their junior year of high school to join a “cohort,” of sorts, once their application has been selected. They’ll remain with that cohort of fellow students until graduation in their senior year.
Some years, the program accepts more students per cohort, depending on available funding. Next year’s graduating class will celebrate 21 students, compared to this year’s 13 or last year’s 14 students. 2025’s students were among the first to enroll in Take Stock in Children post-pandemic, which explains the group’s smaller numbers.
All graduates from the program are awarded a two-year scholarship to any Florida state college or technical college of their choice. This year, The St. Augustine Lions Club also presented the Take Stock in Children St. Johns Class of 2025 with new laptops.
From 2025’s graduating class, all 13 students from various schools across St. Johns County will continue their education at different institutions across the state.
Some students chose major universities such as the University of Florida and Florida State University, and others chose state colleges such as Florida State College at Jacksonville and Daytona State College. One student, who earned a 3.9 GPA while in high school, is pursuing technical certification through First Coast Technical College.
“What we want the students and families to learn is that we’re there to help answer questions and we’re ready to give information about what the next steps look like,” Newman said of her hope for the graduating class. “Also, when the students go off to the next chapter of post-secondary education, we want them to know they have a group of people behind them always cheering them on.”
