High School alumni create scholarship to honor Philando Castile

A scholarship has been created to honor Philando Castile, who was killed by police in Minnesota in July.

The St. Paul High School foundation will offer the scholarship to a student from an underprivileged background who wants to pursue a career in education or child development, reports the Star Tribune.

Castile graduated from St. Paul High School in 2001. Classes from 2001 to 2005 held its first fundraiser for the scholarship on Sunday at Dunning Recreation Center.

“We all had a lot of rage and anger and grief, and we decided to channel that,” said Karla Basta, an organizer from the class of ’01. “Central is a really loyal school, and this was all done by Central alumni.”

Organizers said total funds exceeded $25,000 by day’s end though the initial goal was $10,000.

Philando Castile, 32, was killed by St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez during a July 6 traffic stop in Falcon Heights, with the shooting’s aftermath streamed live on Facebook by Castile’s girlfriend.

“It’s a beautiful thing that Philando’s classmates think enough of him to want to build a scholarship in his name for needy kids,” said Clarence D. Castile, Philando’s uncle.

Castile was a cafeteria worker in the St. Paul’s public school system. Though he didn’t have his teaching license, he enjoyed helping children.

“We have a lot of high-school graduates working in elementary and middle schools but they don’t have their teacher’s license,” said Adrian Perryman, an organizer and ’03 graduate. “These individuals relate to the students greatly, but they can’t affect the curriculum.”

Many of these paraprofessionals are black men, said Perryman, assistant director of academic advising at Concordia University St. Paul.