Honorees Britany Martinez and Alpha Diallo of the International HS at Prospect Heights in Brooklyn make a 360-degree video before the Albert Shanker College Scholarship Awards ceremony.

Honoree Jonathan Pinkhas, who is graduating from Francis Lewis HS in Queens this June, waves to family members as he crosses the stage during the scholarship awards ceremony.

Students celebrate a fellow awardee. The Albert Shanker College Scholarship Awards were established in honor of Albert Shanker, a union founder.

The Brooklyn award winners pose with (top row, left to right) Brooklyn Borough Representative Elizabeth Perez, UFT President Michael Mulgrew and UFT Albert Shanker Scholarship Fund Director Joseph Usatch.

Joining in the fun with the Bronx high school honorees as they make an X sign, signifying their borough, are (top row, left to right) UFT Albert Shanker Scholarship Fund Director Joseph Usatch, Bronx Borough Representative Mary Atkinson and UFT President Michael Mulgrew.

The Manhattan high school award winners face the cameras with (top row, from right) UFT President Michael Mulgrew and UFT Albert Shanker Scholarship Fund Director Joseph Usatch.

Congratulating student Jose Perez IV (second from right), an honoree from Curtis HS on Staten Island, are (from left) UFT Albert Shanker Scholarship Fund Director Joseph Usatch, Staten Island IS/HS District Representative Donna Coppola, Staten Island Borough Representative Sean Rotkowitz and UFT President Michael Mulgrew.

Standing with the Queens high school award winners are (top row, left to right) UFT Albert Shanker Scholarship Fund Director Joseph Usatch, Queens Borough Representative Tabio DaCruz and UFT President Michael Mulgrew.

Flanking the graduate study award winners are UFT President Michael Mulgrew (far left), Shanker Scholarship Fund Supervisor Simone Lewis (second from right) and UFT Albert Shanker Scholarship Fund Director Joseph Usatch (far right). The graduate study awardees won the undergraduate scholarship four years ago.

UFT Albert Shanker Scholarship Fund Director Joseph Usatch congratulates the honorees: “Tonight is brought to us by our students’ dedication, determination and all-out grit.”

UFT President Michael Mulgrew encourages the students to continue striving for excellence even in challenging circumstances, emphasizing that the union would continue to support them over the next four years. “We know you can be successful because you’re here, now, overcoming all these challenges,” he said.

Honoree Kareen Joseph-George, who is graduating from the Urban Assembly School for Leadership and Empowerment in Brooklyn this June, celebrates with her father, Jeremiah George.

Honoree Elias Loor, a senior at Leaders HS in Brooklyn, shakes the hand of UFT Vice President for Academic High Schools Janella Hinds. Loor says his English teacher, Kenny Price, has inspired him to pursue a career as a New York City teacher.