Houston Chronicle
Black skateboarders roll into the spotlight
From the ramps of Houston to the pages of Thrasher, local Black skateboarders such as Ty’Rae Carter and Derrick Hayes are getting their due.
By Camilo Hannibal Smith
Published December 13, 2020
It was a photo just like any other that had been taken of him skateboarding. Houston’s Ty’Rae Carter is seen floating in the air doing a tailgrab nosegrind at the edge of a skate ramp, the tallest in the city. He’s gripping the top of his board, his face etched in concentration. The trick was worthy of the picture, but the image ended up being worthy of something else: a historic moment in skateboard culture.
WSU engineering students Grace Harris and Alyssa Hovenkotter received the scholarships.
SEL created its scholarship program this year to support students in their engineering education and careers, said Stephanie Schweitzer, SEL senior vice president of marketing and communications. SEL hopes to award yearly scholarships.
“Engineers are needed around the world,” she said. “We’re interested, as an organization and as an industry, in increasing the pipeline [to have] more young people studying engineering and coming into the workforce.”
The program also provides mentorship, professional development and SEL seminar opportunities to the scholarship recipients, Schweitzer said.
Harris, senior electrical engineering major, said the scholarship helped her pay her student loans. She said the money will help her financially when she graduates this semester.