Armentor Awards $10K Pay It Forward College Scholarships to at-risk seniors

LAFAYETTE, La (KLFY) -- Seniors across Acadiana are preparing for graduation day. And as the big day draws near, a special group of graduating seniors has become a part of an elite class.           

Five recipients of the 2021 Glenn Armentor "Pay It Forward Scholarship Program" were formally introduced during an annual pinning ceremony Wednesday morning at his law firm's offices, "The Good Hope Hall" on Stewart Street in Lafayette.

The scholarship program, now in its 12th year, has awarded full-ride college tuition to 39 students totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars.

These students have faced great adversity from homelessness and extreme poverty to loss of parents and more, all while achieving academic excellence.

Armentor says, "There are an awful lot of at-risk kids in this country who need help and a college education is really the answer to take them out of being at risk and make them incredible, unstoppable citizens who will do the right things for others and hopefully allow us to get them to adopt their own pay it forward scholarship process."

Armentor, surrounded by his staff, selection committee, local dignitaries, the UL Foundation, students' families and friends, congratulated the scholarship winners and challenged them all to pay it forward.

This month KLFY News10 will profile each of the winners, so be sure to stay tuned for their unforgettable, often heartbreaking, but inspiring and heartwarming stories of achieving amid great adversity.