The HBCU fair is back again, this time closer than ever to JFK.
On September 19, 2025, the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Fair was hosted here at John F Kennedy High School for the first time in history.
The event is usually hosted at Luther Burbank High School; the HBCU has always been a great opportunity for students to meet recruiters from other colleges and see their options from all across the U.S.
“The purpose of the HBCU fair is to give students the opportunity to meet with recruiters from around the states. Most of the time, these recruitment offers that students get might include scholarships,” explained Ms. Prasad, JFK’s College and Career counselor. “Most of the time, these recruiters can offer students direct admissions and even scholarships.
Every year, around 30 to 35 different college recruiters attend these fairs to meet students and discuss scholarships, summer programs, and admission opportunities.
“It’s just a networking opportunity for students, but also for students to be introduced to HBCUs,” continues Ms. Prasad. “Oftentimes, a lot of our students just know the CSUs, the UCs, and the community colleges. We just want to make sure that students are aware of the opportunities that HBCUs offer at the other state levels.”
During the fair, recruiters were spread throughout the gym, ready to talk with students about their programs. JFK students were supplied by their counselor with at least 10 copies of their transcripts, along with a paper that had their email on the front of it with a direct barcode of their transcript under it. If their materials were strong enough, some recruiters even offered on-the-spot admissions and scholarships.
Students were encouraged to go and talk to each of the recruiters and learn about their campus, if they had any questions. Each student is going to have at least 10 copies of their transcripts that they can hand to a recruiter should the recruiter ask for it, and, if your grades are good enough, they might offer you on-the-spot admissions or even on-the-spot scholarships.
Many students across the Sacramento school district attended the HBCU fair. JFK had 100 of their own students attending this college fair, Ms. Prasad predicted around 10 to 15 schools, or 200 to 300 students across ALL high schools, big and small. All this, for the sake of students’ futures.
“So, pretty much this event is to just encourage students to kind of just see what offers are out there for them, and who knows, they might even get a full scholarship ride or anything that they didn’t know they were eligible for,” said Ms. Prasad.
