The Foundation
This video features interviews with both current students and graduates of Central, including members of the band Heiruspecs, and showcases the financial needs and enormous potential of students who attend this urban public high school. The video was produced and directed by 2005 Central graduate, Max Selim.
About the Devin Smith Scholarship Foundation
The Devin Smith Scholarship Foundation awards college scholarships to students from St. Paul Central High School because it is a place that embraces diversity, fosters academic excellence, and ultimately cultivates creativity. It is this environment, and the community that supports it, that allows students like Devin to pursue their passions. Devin always believed that creativity is limitless, and that idea is at the core of our foundation. It is for this reason that we support students who embrace their creative passions in whatever forms they may take.
About Devin Smith
Devin Lomax Smith was born on February 6, 1989, and grew up in St. Paul. He was a proud graduate of Capitol Hill Magnet School and a 2007 graduate of St. Paul Central High School. He was a writer, poet and rapper. While in high school, along with fellow students at Central, Devin formed a hip-hop band called Tea Party.
Along with being an avid academic and historian, Devin was following his artistic dreams. He was Editor and Chief of an NYC-based online magazine and satisfied his writing fix by frequently posting his own articles. Devin was also working on a CD with his New York band, Wino, for which he rhymed and wrote. Devin would want to be remembered for his fearless creative vision. He cherished the diversity of his hometown and high school, and would be happy to know that scholarships at St. Paul Central in his memory will make it possible for others to follow their own dreams. Devin traveled the world and wrote music and poetry every day. He graduated from New York University in May 2011, with a degree in Arabic, Middle Eastern studies, and creative writing.
About St. Paul Central High School
In 2018, 52% of Central students qualified for free or reduced lunch. Financial need is an obstacle for many students in their pursuit of higher education. The foundation scholarships are intended to lessen this burden for its recipients.
Forty languages are spoken in the homes of St. Paul Central students, and the student body reflects the diverse community that it serves. The school has also been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, and sent 92% of its graduates to higher education institutions in 2011. Central is proud of its diversity, as stated in the school motto “Many Traditions, One School.” Students share their unique experiences with one another, creating an exceptional learning and creative environment that prepares students for a future in a diverse and challenging world.