Tony Delbridge
A June 1968 article in the Long Island Press Newspaper titled “Grads Share Honors”, acknowledged Negro and Puerto Rican graduates of Jamaica High School have received honors and awards to begin their college careers. The following College Discovery and Development Program graduates received scholarships:
- Jose Acevedo, Hector Rivera, Tony Delbridge, Margaret Griffith, Cassandra Burnett, Star Mallory, Roland Anderson, John Parham, Irma Gonzales, Maurice Williams, Clifford Barnes, William Archer, Lloyd McWhorter, and Albert Leigh.
Although the article did not acknowledge all the College Discovery and Development graduates and the diversity of the group, it represents a powerful reminder of the foundation the program provided for this deserving group of Jamaica High School graduates.
The College Discovery and Development program at Jamaica High School couples with the opportunity to participate in the Columbia University Project Double Discovery Program during the summers beginning in 1965 combined to offer a wonderful and supportive environment to mature and gain confidence in my potential, capabilities, and aspirations. The essence and value of these important programs is their ability to help young students realize and achieve more than they believed was possible.
- A curiosity for learning and education helped me complete engineering and business degrees from Queensborough Community College, City College of New York, Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute of New York, and Georgia State University.
- Married my wife from Liberia in 1977. We have two sons who live in Manhattan, and two beautiful grandchildren.
- Career opportunities included several exciting project assignments in the Power and Energy, Chemical and Pharmaceutical industries as a Mechanical Engineering Professional.
After reconnecting with Maurice Williams, Ademah (Glenn) Hackshaw, and Cliff Barnes, we initiated an effort to arrange a fiftieth year Jamaica High School College Discovery and Development Reunion in June 2014, at the New York Law Office of Cliff Barnes. We had great attendance at the reunion celebration with the College Discovery classmates and teachers directly involved in the program that we were able to locate and connect with. In 2025 we came together again and successfully facilitated Virtual Zoom Reunion Meetings of the 1968 Jamaica High School College Discovery classmates and teachers, with the help of a Zoom Expert. A College Discovery and Development website is available, and classmates are encouraged to share their life stories so others might understand the impact of this unique program on their lives after leaving Jamaica High School.