I saw that twelve Fayette County Public Schools seniors just won those Be the Change scholarships. How does that program work, and what do students have to do to qualify for the money?

Yeah, it's a really great program that's been expanding over the past few years. The Be the Change scholarships are specifically for Fayette County Public Schools seniors who qualify for free or reduced lunch, plan to study at a Kentucky two or four year college, and have interest in a career in improving community safety and equity. Each student gets five thousand dollars upfront, with the possibility of getting an additional twenty-five hundred dollars that can renew.

So it's targeting kids who want to go into public safety careers?

Exactly. It's designed to support students pursuing careers in criminal justice, public safety and gun violence prevention. The program is run through ONE Lexington, which is the city's initiative focused on reducing gun violence among youth and young adults. Students need to maintain at least a two point five GPA and be eligible for free or reduced lunch. The funding comes from partnerships between ONE Lexington, the city, Galls, and Central Bank, with the Blue Grass Community Foundation administering the scholarships.

And this started small but grew into something bigger?

It actually began in twenty twenty-two as just a single scholarship at Bryan Station High School, but now it's expanded to reach students across every Fayette County public high school. The whole idea is to get more young people into the systems and career paths that directly address root causes of violence in our community. It's pretty cool to see local partnerships like this making a real difference for kids who might not otherwise have these opportunities.

Listen live: The Lexington Times runs a 24/7 local news livestream — watch on YouTube or on Facebook. This transcript is from a recent on-air segment.