2018 Scholars
The 10 students in the 2018 Scholarship Plus class — bringing our total number of scholars to 64 — are each outstanding individuals who have already accomplished much and overcome significant challenges. Four are part of immigrant families, some have been in the city’s homeless shelter system. One already has a following as a computer game designer, another won a statewide science competition. Two are dancers. Their college choices range as far geographically as Dartmouth and the University of Southern California, and include Skidmore, Baruch, Boston College, Colgate, Rensselaer Polytechnic and N.Y.U. Tandon Engineering; two will attend Columbia. Here are the members of the ninth class of Scholarship Plus.
Anijah (International Relations & Dance, USC)
"This is the third year in a row that she has been placed in the highest level of dance instruction with Alvin Ailey — if they could make a higher level for her, they would."
Arianna (Sociology, Boston College)
"Her grit and work ethic surpass anything I have seen in a student in my seven years of teaching.”
Ebrahim (Economics & Molecular Biology, Colgate)
“I believe that life is a race. The winner is not the person who finishes first, but the person who believes in himself and works hard.”
Faria (Psychology & Women's and Gender Studies, Columbia)
“I cannot control the cards I am dealt, but I am controlling how I play my hand.”
Gil (Political Science, Columbia)
"He will be positioned to represent the experiences of our community in the academic realm. Something I think we need more of in today’s world.”
Javier (Computer Science, RPI)
"I use my experiences to create a better life for my family and for my community."
Joselyn (Computer Engineering, Dartmouth)
"She has been a scholar, an advocate, a volunteer, an organizer, and a leader—in short, a true Renaissance woman."
Michael (Social Work & Dance)
"He particularly enjoyed his study of biology, and elected to take Anatomy and Physiology as they connected to his interest in science, as well as his passion for dance."
Mohammed (Computer Science, NYU)
Mohammed teaches computer coding — using a curriculum he helped design — to support a new generation of tech-savvy entrepreneurs among young men of color.
Soléi (Political Science, CUNY Baruch)
“There is an optimism and light about her that is contagious.”