It was a proud moment for students standing behind the podium and their families, packed into the government center lobby and eager to snap pictures.
"One more time. Let's give a round of applause for these young people leaving behind a legacy. Thank you," One Lexington director Devine Carama said.
The mayor awarded one-time $10,000 "Be the Change scholarships to 18 local students who can use them at Kentucky universities. Meanwhile, a $100,000 fund has been set aside for career and technical education scholarships. A dozen were awarded to 2025 graduates whose lives have been directly or indirectly affected by violence.
Lexington Community Outreach Coordinator Larry Johnson said some of the students receiving the dollars are ones who might otherwise fall through the cracks.
"They have decided that they're going to do better and be productive members of society, and we are only assisting. It's their work. It's their decision, and we're gonna be be right there behind them all the way to support them," he said.
Amaya Young was one of the recipients. She plans to work in health care.
"With me wanting to be a physician assistant, a lot of us work in the ER, and we see a lot of people that have been affected by gun violence," she said. "So it's just wanting to know more about where everything comes from and wanting to help prevent it is what motivated me."
The gathering came on the heels of three gun-related incidents within a seven-hour stretch in Lexington — an accidental shooting, gunfire aimed at a vehicle on Spangler Drive, and an injury on Given Avenue.
"Somehow people have established a culture for settling disputes with guns. We believe that this generation, these young people, are going to be the ones who will make the change," Johnson added.
The scholarships are funded through what's called the "Everybody Counts" initiative, which was launched by Gov. Andy Beshear in 2022.