Lucius Rice, a rising Tuskegee University sophomore, is a perfect example of how the Tom Joyner Foundation makes a difference:
“I was recently awarded the Hercules award from the Tom Joyner Foundation and [I want to] say thank you so much for the award. It has really removed some of the dents from the total I owe to the school this year and it was truly a blessing to be selected to receive the award. Once again I thank you and the organization for helping me to continue my education at Tuskegee.”
Rice is among the 29,000 students at HBCUs over the past 14 years that the Foundation has assisted them to complete their college educations – and, in turn, help them pursue their dreams. These students come from small towns, like Camilla, Ga., and big cities, like New York City. They also come from all fifty states, the Caribbean, and African nations to get an education. These outstanding students, recommended throughout the course of the year from our partner HBCUs, share a common bond in wanting to be the best. They are the future doctors, lawyers, ambassadors, politicians, elementary school teachers, college professors, scientists, entrepreneurs, and software engineers.
The statistics tell the story: Nine of the top ten colleges that graduate most of the African American students who go on to earn Ph.D.s are HBCUs. HBCUs are the major producers of African American science degree holders: agriculture (51.6 percent), biology (42.2 percent), computer science (35 percent), physical science (43 percent), engineers (53 percent) African American Veterinarians (60 percent), and social scientist (23.2 percent). HBCUs graduate 44 percent of all African American bachelor’s degrees awarded for communications technology, 33 percent of bachelor’s degrees awarded for engineering technology, and 43 percent of bachelor’s degrees awarded for mathematics.
Take a look at Britney Wilson, the brilliant future lawyer from Brooklyn, NY, who is the Tom Joyner Foundation’s first Full Ride Scholar. This year, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Howard University and is now pursuing her law degree at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania.
There’s Cheyenne Boyce from Detroit, Michigan a junior at Spelman College and a future ambassador, an avid cellist, who is spending this year in Japan to continue to fine tune her Japanese and learn more about the culture.
Blaine Robertson, another Foundation Full Ride Scholar, is a future math teacher from Reserve, La. who is a senior at Howard University. He is already on the path to pursuing his dream: In the spring, he’ll be student teaching at a Washington, D.C. high school. Robertson’s quote exemplifies the spirit of these HBCU scholars, “Whenever I am doing something or am a part of something that is important, I put 100% of myself into making it something better and more meaningful to myself and anyone else it affects.”
While you have many choices of nonprofits to support at this time of the year, invest in the future of this country with your support to the Tom Joyner Foundation. Your contribution will make a difference for thousands of future leaders.