AT&T Provides $15,000 to 'Year Up Puget Sound' for Local Student Scholarships

SEATTLE, Aug. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T* today announced that it has provided $15,000 to Year Up – Puget Sound, which was used to provide scholarships for three local students.  The Year Up Puget Sound 2014 graduation ceremony was held last Wednesday at Benaroya Hall in Seattle.  More than 350 guests from the community attended the ceremony to celebrate the bright futures of participating students.

Through a one-year intensive training program, Year Up provides urban young adults ages 18-24 with a unique combination of hands-on technical and professional skills, college credit and corporate internships.  Over the past three years, Year Up Puget Sound has gone from start-up dream to impactful reality, building a staff of 35 and serving over 360 students.  In 2014, alone the program will serve 220 young adults throughout the Puget Sound.

"Our mission is to close the opportunity divide by providing urban young adults throughout the Puget Sound with the skills, experiences and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education," said Year Up Executive Director Lisa Chin.  "Year Up recognizes the barriers to education and professional work and through contributions from organizations like AT&T; we seek to overcome those barriers by setting high expectations and providing high support for our young adults."

Currently, about one in five students does not graduate high school with their peers, and of those who do, many are not fully prepared for college and career success.  But there is hope: nationally, high school graduation rates are increasing, but not nearly as fast as they need to be, which is why AT&T is continuing and expanding its commitment to AT&T Aspire.

"Investing in education is one of the most important things we can do for a strong future," said Bob Bass, President, AT&T Washington.  "Education has been our priority for more than a century. Our signature philanthropic initiative, AT&T Aspire, is focused on raising high school graduation rates and preparing students for college and careers."

Aspire fuels and widens the talent pipeline, helping to ensure that the future workforce of our country will be stocked with a pool of qualified, diverse employees who have the combination of 21st century skills – like STEM – that American businesses need to remain competitive in the digital, global economy. AT&T has pledged to invest $350 million in ASPIRE to provide events for students to lower the drop-out rate of America's high school students.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's most reliable 4G LTE network**, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best global wireless coverage, based on offering roaming in more countries than any other U.S. based carrier, and offers the most wireless phones that work in the most countries.  It also offers advanced TV service with the AT&T U-verse^® brand. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

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*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

** Reliability claim based on third party data regarding nationwide carriers' 4G LTE. LTE is a trademark of ETSI.

Learn more about 4G LTE at att.com/network.

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SOURCE AT&T