Scholar News

Taylor Thomas-Harris, 2017 Scholar

 Taylor is amazing! She had a very successful freshman year at Longwood University, finishing the year with a 3.5 GPA. She joined the Chi Alpha, a Christian Fellowship at the University. and was inducted into The National Society of Leadership and Success in the second semester. She took statistics over the summer. Her future plans are to get a degree in social work and become a counselor for those with disabilities. Taylor is a great role model. Given that she has managed to excel in spite. of having cerebral palsy since birth, makes her an ideal counselor for others with challenges.

In accessing her first year, Taylor says that being a college student is very different from being in high school. She was concerned about being away from home with a disability and being able to handle the work load with a disability. It takes longer for her to complete her assignments, but she starts early and always goes to her professors if she needs help.

She wrote that in college, you have to make decisions for yourself, your parents are not there for the daily decisions facing you. She said that having to manage her time without parental guidance was a big deal as was getting to professors for help during their scheduled office hours. Having so many assignments in college, many with the same due date without reminders from parents took some getting used to, but she did it! She said there were times when she had to make a choice between doing homework and attending an event. Managing her time also meant taking care of herself, such as making sure she ate properly (three meals a day is important for Taylor to do) and got rest.

Kordell Burgess, 2015 Scholar

"I would just like to give you all an update on finishing my first year of college. Going into college I was nervous but was very excited as well. There are some students who go off to college and realize they are unable to handle the amount of freedom they receive, and I was not sure if I would be able to handle it or not. I am glad to say that I was able to handle my newfound freedom. I enjoyed my first year of college very much. It was filled with much joy, laughter, new experiences, and friendships that will last a lifetime. Although the coursework was very rigorous and the transition from high school took some getting used too, managing my time well and setting priorities made all the difference. I became involved in many clubs such as the NAACP, Black Male Initiative, Black Student Alliance, Daniel Hale-Williams Pre- Medical Honor Society, Black Collegiate 100, participated in a fashion show, volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club, acted in a play, and spent a weekend at Yale University. I would have never imagined that I would have participated in any of those events, but I am glad I did. Overall, my first year of college was phenomenal, and I am looking forward to three more phenomenal years when I will continue to grow as a person. Your generous scholarship made a difference in my first year and for that I will always be grateful."

Adrianna Moore, 2015 Scholar

“My first year at North Carolina State University was the beginning of what I know will be an amazing four years. I made great friends and learned so many new things about myself and who I want to be. I also learned a lot about myself academically. College is definitely different than high school and for me that meant I really had to buckle down when it came to my studies. Everything came so easily in high school. In college I had to really study and test myself when it came to the information. Overall, I think my first year has made me a better student and has taught me many lifelong lessons.”


She is majoring in women's and gender studies and is picking up a minor in human biology. Cheerleading has been a great experience for her. "There are actually 55 people on my team the picture was of my stunt group. We have small groups that travel for away football games and we cheer for both football and basketball. We also compete in national competitions and this year the group that went to the NCA Nationals won the much fun doing the run out and pre game show."

Jasmine Wade,2009 Scholar

A proud alumna of Cornell University. Jasmine is a business technology professional withexperience in customer engagement, IT solutions selling, and user experience managementwith an interest in spreading into marketing and product management. She is passionateabout technology, innovation, design and social media.