Isabella Peters was having breakfast at home when she received a call from an unknown number.
She didn’t answer, unsure of who would be calling her at 7 a.m. Then a text came from the same number.
She called back and learned she was the first recipient ever to be awarded the Ralph Yarl scholarship for $50,000.
“I was very surprised,” said Peters, who is getting ready to start her senior year at Lincoln College Prep High School.
As a first-generation college student, Peters said she and her grandma are very grateful.
“No one in my family has ever received something like this before or gone to college, so it’s just something that lifts weight off your shoulders because, I can go to school,” Peters said. “I can be the first one in my family to get a higher education and just break the cycle.”
The award from KC Scholars is named in honor of Ralph Yarl, the Missouri teen who was shot in April 2023 after ringing the wrong doorbell while trying to pick up his younger brothers from a friend’s house.
‘The blessing that he lived’
Despite facing challenges from a traumatic brain injury caused by the shooting, Yarl graduated from Staley High School in May and plans to pursue a degree in chemical engineering at Texas A&M University this fall.
Natalie Lewis, chief operating officer at Great Jobs KC/KC Scholars, brought the idea for a scholarship in his name to the teen and his family because she wanted to bring awareness to the challenges that they faced, and the way they’ve persevered.
Yarl, a black teen, was shot by a white man in the head when he knocked on the door of a house on 115th Terrace instead of 115th Street.
The shooting gained national attention, sparking conversations around racism around Kansas City, especially in the Northland.
Lewis announced the scholarship in July 2023, after a screening of the movie “Till,” as a way for the community to engage in ongoing conversations around systemic injustice. She chose the occasion because she saw a connection between Yarl and his family’s story to Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black teen who was brutally lynched in 1955 for allegedly whistling at a white woman, and his mother.
“We had an opportunity and a platform in which to make a different kind of statement … standing up in solidarity and supporting Ralph and his family … honoring and acknowledging, just the blessing that he lived,” Lewis said.
“He was very intrigued about it. But some of his first questions like, well, how will the recipient be decided,” Lewis said.
Lewis asked Yarl and his mother about their vision for the scholarship. The teen, who is a member of the Youth Symphony of Kansas City, said he wanted the award to go to a student in the region who was passionate about music like he is, and for whom the opportunity would truly make a difference.
“So from that, our team looked at our applicants for this year and narrowed it down to students that had that interest,” Lewis said.
Peters has the same passion in music as Yarl, both involved in the symphony.
“Ralph was a very introverted, quiet, amazing young man. So just to watch them talk and ignite, it was just neat, Lewis said.
‘Have a voice for yourself’
Peters plans to attend UMKC after she graduates from Lincoln in 2025 to study music and music therapy.
“I want to use (the scholarship) the best way I can. I just wanna even double major maybe,” Peters said.
She said that she was anxious about affording college and taking out loans. Now, she no longer needs to rely on her grandma or other family members for financial assistance.
“Since I’ve been awarded the scholarship, it’s, like, all stress free,” Peters said. “This scholarship, I think, has most of my school covered.”
Peters began her musical journey in late 2017, when she joined Harmony Project KC, an organization for young musicians in the Kansas City area. She learned how to play the base.
After college, Peters plans to give back to local music organizations in Kansas City such as Rebel Song Academy, Harmony Project KC and the Youth Symphony of Kansas City, that helped her become the musician and person she is today.
The scholarship established in honor of Yarl is on top of KC Scholars’ other programs. The organization also offers awards to 11th graders, savings match programs for 9th graders and assistance for adult learners, including connecting individuals to apprenticeships, internships and employment opportunities.
“You just honestly have to put yourself out there because there are people and groups of people who will help you if you just present yourself and have a voice for yourself,” Peters said.
