The students at Palm Springs Community Middle School often hear the word “no.”
The group of about 2,000 students at the West Palm Beach school come from a predominantly low-income background and can’t afford basic needs, said Devon Mellul, a 26-year-old language arts teacher at the school.
“They’re so used to rejection,” Mellul said.
But two weeks ago, the students got a “yes” from the UF University Athletic Association. Mellul and her homeroom students wrote a letter explaining that the school is a Title I school, and many of the students can’t afford college gear.
The letter said: “We are an avid school with many keen minds and very bright students who want nothing more than to someday attend a college or university.”
Mellul sent the letter to 20 universities, including Florida State University, the University of Central Florida and Florida Atlantic University, she said.
The only school that responded to the request was UF. The university sent 30 bright orange shirts in an oversized brown box to Mellul’s students so they could participate in the school’s weekly College Friday, which encourages students and staff to wear college attire to class to promote higher education.
Only a few students dress up because about 90 percent of them can’t afford to spend money on new clothes, Mellul said, which is why she led the effort to be gifted free attire.
Before students walked into their homeroom class, Mellul was up early to fold the shirts neatly over her students’ desks. Smiles stretched across their faces as the surprise sank in, Mellul said. The students put on the shirts without even asking where they came from.
A video of the students walking into class has since gone viral, receiving more than 500,000 views.
Most of Mellul’s nearly 25 students will wear their shirts every Friday, she said. For many, she said, it is the only college shirt they own.
“This gets them excited about the college process and future,” she said. “I really think that UF will forever stick in their minds.”
Although Julie Hackney, the University Atheltic Association executive assistant for marketing and promotions, said she receives letters every day from schools, families and charity organizations, it is a goal of UF employees to respond to as many as possible, especially when the requests are made for children.
There are times when the association is limited on supplies, Hackney wrote in an email. But employees often try to send along shirts and promotional items that are leftover.
“It is a very warm and humbling feeling when you can brighten their day,” Hackney said.
Contact Gillian Sweeney at gsweeney@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @gilliangsweeney
Students in their homeroom class at Palm Springs Community Middle School in West Palm Beach smile after receiving a box full of Gator shirts. UF was the only school of 20 to respond to the students request for shirts to celebrate College Friday.
