William is a dedicated and high-achieving student who graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School in May 2024. With a solid 3.75 GPA, William has been a committed member of the St. Peter Canisius, SJ Chapter of the National Honor Society and The National Honor Society of High School Scholars, consistently showing his academic excellence and leadership skills.

William has earned First Honors and Scholar Athlete Awards, having a great balance between his academic pursuits and athletic achievements. He was actively involved in the B.A.S.E. (Black Awareness Society for Education) and Business & Marketing clubs, which have made his high school experience well-rounded.

In addition to his academic and club activities, William has earned varsity letters in both Bowling and Marching Band. His bowling skills have brought in multiple awards and medals, with his team reaching the state qualifiers in 2023. As part of the Marching Band, William has performed at notable venues like Ford Field. He also played in the Jazz Band, showcasing his musical talents at various locations around metro Detroit and even in New Orleans.

William is also active in his community, having served at his local church during Sunday school and accumulating over 100 hours of service at his local retirement center.

This fall, William will be heading to Hampton University to major in the 5-year MBA program. His decision to take on this challenging academic path comes from a desire to get a career that will allow him to give back to his community. William’s dedication to service and leadership is evident in all his school and community activities, and he hopes to use his education to make a positive impact in the future.

Miles Jones is a Rising Freshman at Howard University from Queens, NY by way of Valley Stream, NY. He will be in Howard’s School of Business and intend to major in Marketing. Long term, he plans to pursue the film & media side of business, finance, or consulting and eventually branch off into entrepreneurship. Currently, he enjoys basketball, creating YouTube content, and working on my clothing brand!

Jair McElveen comes from a huge family, as he is number seven out of eight children. He is a recent graduate of East Bladen High School and Bladen Community College who has earned his high school diploma and two associate degrees with high honors. In high school, McElveen played soccer, tennis, and ran track while actively volunteering in his community, county, and state. As the 2023-2024 North Carolina State Senior Beta President, McElveen worked diligently to serve others and encouraged inclusive environments where everyone felt celebrated and valued.

In the fall, McElveen will attend the illustrious North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University with plans to major in political science and journalism and mass communications in the honors program. In the future, he hopes to become a media attorney and politician who protects people who are often misrepresented and ensures their voices are heard.

While he does understand that there is no one-step solution to this diverse, equal, and inclusive utopia, McElveen works hard to make the unseen, visible, and the unheard, audible, and hopes of getting us closer every single day.

Sevan Griffin is a 2023 graduate of the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy in Detroit Michigan, who graduated with Honors by maintaining a 3.6 overall GPA. Sevan was a scholar athlete by being a valued member of the high school golf team.

He will attend Morehouse College this fall and plans to study Biology/Pre-Med. This will assist him in fulfilling his dream of becoming a Pediatric Orthopedic surgeon. His very own orthopedic surgeon saved his life and he wants to do the same for children with the same conditions.

Sevan spent this summer at Morehouse College participating in the Thomas J. Blocker Health Professions Program and has also been accepted into the Howard Thurman Honors Program. Sevan is focused, dedicated and determined to make his dream come true.

Robert Hill, a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism and a proud bison attending Howard University rooted from Kansas City, Missouri.

He believes that he is known for my exceptional drive and determination. Recently he was accepted into the Cathy Hughes School of Communication Annenberg Honors Program. Earning a spot on the dean’s list and served as a Student Board Member of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. Rob is a part of the Kansas City 10k Hands Mentoring program, where he participated in special workshops and mentoring from young professionals to our city youths. For the past year, Robert has assisted former underclassmen from his high school with the process of applying to HBCUs.

Marcus Johnson is a incoming freshman at Hampton University majoring in Electrical Engineering. His career goal is to be a robotics/bionics engineer. He was a member of my high school robotics team and we won finals in one of our meets. He is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Jr, and will continue my membership with Hampton University’s chapter. He was a member of my high school’s Black Alliance Initiative Club. He attended Hampton University’s pre college for rising seniors during the Summer of 2022. He is also a recipient of the School of Engineering, Architecture, and Aviation (SEAA) Pre-college Summer 2023 program for Hampton University

Jaxon McCowan is a graduate from The School for the Talented and Gifted at Townview. Throughout high school he maintained a balance of academia and the arts by graduating with high honors while participating in choir, acting, directing, and being the historian for Townview's Black Student Union.

As the outgoing captain of The Fellowship Initiative, he dedicated part of his extracurricular time a program within the non profit organization, Big Thought, that's designed to close the equity and wealth gap by providing young men of color unique opportunities such as social and emotional learning, college readiness, professional development, exploration of creativity, and teamwork/relationship building.

He is also strengthened by branding, management, and collaborative skills by working as a Big Thought x D Custom apprentice to formulate and create the Create Great magazine that's soon to be released

He is now furthering his education at Thee Illustrious and Incomparable Morehouse College majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in management. His goal is to inspire and impact the world around me by combining entrepreneurship and artistry because art is the purest form of entrepreneurship.

He looks forward to taking advantage of every opportunity that comes my way on my journey to becoming a Morehouse Man. He plans to further my education

Othello Adjepong is a Ghanian American academic scholar-athlete, who is a gifted visual artist and a track runner. He is planning to attend Howard University this and major in biology. Othello is committed to becoming a Pediatric Dentist.

He has the determination to let nothing standing in his way! And lives by the motto "Dreams Don't Work Unless You Do”. He believes that if opportunity doesn’t knock, then he has the right character and tools to build the door to open up new opportunities.

Robert Ellis is a Freshman at Xavier University of Louisiana. He was the 2021 Youth of the Year for the Greater Houston Area and is the 1st place recipient of the Galveston Youth Leadership Award. He is the secretary of the Xavier Pre-Law Society and a board member of Xavier NAACP.

Robert has obtained a 4.0 GPA at Xavier with enough credits to be considered a junior. All while being a sprint specialist on the Xavier Track & Field Team. After College, Robert plans to attend Law School to become a Civil Rights Attorney.

Josiah Harris is currently a student at Morehouse College studying Political Science with hopes to attend Law School.

He is the Founder and League Commissioner of the Mentoring Opportunity League (MOL), a mentoring organization aiming to inspire, equip and mentor students of color through leadership development, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. Utilizing there specially crafted sports mentoring model, they are sponsored by the San Francisco 49ers and a partner of the 100 Black Men of the Bay Area.

Christopher Taylor is a Class of 2021 graduate of East St. John High School and St. John the Baptist Parish STEM Magnet Program. Finishing 2nd out of 374 students, he was honored to serve as Salutatorian of his high school as well as St. John the Baptist High School Student of the Year. He obtained a GPA of 4.0.

He is planning to attend the prestigious Xavier University of Louisiana in the Fall. While at Xavier University he will be majoring in Mass Communication in hopes to grow his knowledge of journalism and communication.

He is looking forward to having a strong student presence on Xavier’s campus as he will continue to engage in student leadership opportunities.

Eman was accepted into Howard University with a final GPA of 3.7 after graduating early in the winter of 2020. Eman plans to major in Nursing and complete the graduate program for Clinical Laboratory Science.

He been an essential worker for the past year as a student CNA at Baylor Scott & White and recognized by Allen High School as the highest earner of dual credit in his graduating class.

Erron Williams is a Junior at Prairie View A&M University studying Chemical Engineering. He has devoted Countless Volunteer Hours to the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) serving in 5 Executive positions including a current position on the National Executive Board as The Pre-College Initiative Chair responsible for Overseeing all programs in the society geared towards inspiring young black students k-12 to Major STEM.

He is a Halliburton RISE Scholar and a current Summer Engineering Intern at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL). When he has free time Erron can be found Playing basketball or eating at new restaurants with friends.

His long-term career goal is to successfully design a Nuclear Fusion Tokamak to help solve the world's energy crisis. Nuclear Fusion does not produce the harmful waste products that Nuclear Fission does so this breakthrough would not only save our natural resources but stop us from killing the environment in the process.

Aren Kimbrough Buffaloe is the youngest son of Mr. Eddie Manford Buffaloe, Jr. and Mrs. Assata Kimbrough Buffaloe, of Kelford, NC. He is a 2020 graduate of Hertford County Early College.

Aren received his Associates in Science. He is enrolled and will be attending North Carolina A & T State University this fall. Aren’s final GPA was 3.7250 (weighted) and 4.4000 (unweighted), and his overall Class Rank was 8 out of 47 students. In addition, he has a 1200 SAT score, 640 in Math and 560 in Reading, and a composite 28 ACT score. While at A & T, he plans to have a double major in both Architectural Engineering and English/Creative Writing.

He has discovered a love for volunteer work, during his high school career he has acted as a Transporter at Vidant Medical Center (June 2019 through Present), volunteered at Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church (2009 through Present), volunteered with Elizabeth City Rise Against Hunger (2017 – 2018), volunteered at the Elizabeth City North Carolina Potato Festival (May 2016 – May 2019), and volunteered at the Elizabeth City SOULS Ministry (November 2016 – November 2018). He is a proud member of the Beta Club (2014 to Present), the Yearbook/Journalism Club (2018), and EMBODI of the Ahoskie Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (2017 through Present).

Joshua graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA and will attend The North Carolina A&T State University in the fall. He plans to major in Business Management and Finance to later become a Real Estate Developer with the goals to create and maintain great communities for all families to reside in.

Bruce Justice Wilson is the firstborn son to Bruce and Sinda Wilson and a native of the Southside of Chicago, Illinois. Bruce is a proud product of the Chicago Public School System and a strong advocate for accessible and high-quality public education. At Hampton University, Bruce studies political science and economics while also being recognized as a Presidential Scholar by Hampton University and an Endowed Scholar by the National Hampton Alumni Association. Bruce is also a member of the Board of Trustees for Hampton University.

Bruce spends his free time reading, exercising, or watching classic films. Bruce works closely with community leaders and elected officials in the Chicagoland area and actively volunteers as a Peace Ambassador for The Support Group, a Chicago based non-profit, that seeks to provide unlimited opportunities for underserved youth.

Bruce is a TEDx presenter, keynote speaker, aspiring attorney and is regarded as an up-and-coming thought leader on the political and economic landscape of the United States.

Bruce is a member of the Gamma Iota Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., a Global Brigades Leadership Institute Alumnus, a Gloucester Institute Emerging Leader, a Scholar with The Institute for Responsible Citizenship, and has most recently been named a White House HBCU Competitiveness Scholar by the U.S. Department of Education.

DeSean is one of the three winners of the first annual Walker Williams Wilson Scholarship.

DeSean graduated high school with a 3.92 GPA and is currently enrolled in his freshman year at NC A&T State University. He plans to obtain a degree in Civil Engineering and work in city planning with sustainable materials.

Tariq is one of the three winners of the first annual Walker Williams Wilson Scholarship.

Tariq currently attends Claflin University as a Junior majoring in Mass Communications with a 3.9 GPA. He plans to open his own media production studio.

Jordan is one of three winners of the first annual Walker Williams Wilson Scholarship.

Jordan graduated high school with a 3.0 GPA and is attending Tennessee State University as a freshman this fall. He plans to become a successful Director and Screenwriter, which will ultimately lead him to owning his own production and film business.