Scholars
BFCFund is proud to introduce four outstanding scholars!
Meseret Bitner, Cedarville University
2024
Meseret Bitner, Louiseville, KY
“To me 'good trouble' means challenging the status quo in order to bring attention to issues such as injustice or where others may have been marginalized. An example from my life is related to my gap year. Between highs chool and college I did a gap year with an organization that trains people to work in third world countries. My friends thought I should go straight to college and not be invested in helping others. I spent a year in Mexico working and serving others who desired to make a change in third world cultures. I decided that I wanted to give a year of my life to begin making 'good trouble'!”
2023
Elianna Beier, Trinity Christian College
Elianna Beier, Chicago, IL
"As a bi-racial African American girl, I remember often wanting to hold my caucasian mom’s hand when we were out in public. It wasn’t just a fifth-grade girl seeking comfort from her mom; I wanted people to see that black and white people can get along. I wanted people to see that we could love each other and even be family. My whole perspective will bring value to my career because I have learned so young to love and live with people who are different. I hope that I can serve, lead and love people of other ethnicities, languages, and cultures deeply. I hope that I can change the parts of the world that God allows me to touch. I know I cannot change the entire world, but I can be a multi-colored, many-faceted light in my corner."
Kaiyn Ashley, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
Kaiyn Ashley, brooklyn, new york
"I grew up a black, gay boy in a white conservative family on Cape Cod. I was one of the very few black people who went to my school. There were only 5% black individuals in my school with hardly any other minorities. I was always different from the rest of my classmates. I came out when I was 11 years old. This controversy gave me tons of unwanted attention in my life that also caused conflicts with myself. Other people's confusion started to become my issue. Ultimately my parents sent me to an all-boys school. I worked tirelessly while I was away from home to be myself and not let anyone change me. Those four mostly horrific years were life-changing. For instance, I grew my relationship with my uncle in New York. I started visiting the city and fell in love with the culture of my community of being black and gay. My story is still being written and is always changing for the best."
2022
Sydney Rodney, Temple University
SYDney Rodney, brooklyn, new york
“With the unconditional love and support that my family gives me, I do not doubt myself. As they see me doing great things. I see myself doing even greater things. When people see me, I want them to see I can do all I WANT. I hope I can be one who has an impact on someone or even a community and for the good of things.”
2020
Jailyn Aceron, Oxford College at Emory University
Jailyn aceron, Oak park, Illinois
"Ignorance is planted in our minds like a seed into soil. The seed can grow into a tree. Another seed can fall off that tree, and so on. Some trees die within a year. Redwood trees can live up to 1,000 years. So ignorance is a seed planted in a child that can cause harm across generations. A racially intolerant person wasn’t born that way; somebody planted those ideas in their mind. Everyone has the potential to change. However, I have learned I cannot change people, people have to change themselves. But I can impact people. I can plant new 'seeds' into people."
2019
Geoffrey Allen, College of Wooster
Geoffrey Allen — Princeton, New Jersey
“My name is Geoffrey Allen. I will be graduating from Princeton High School later this month as part of the Class of 2019. I have enrolled at the College of Wooster in Ohio, where I plan to major in my favorite school subject, history. My goal is to start as a history teacher and eventually work my way up to becoming a research professor who teaches history from more than just a Western European perspective. By teaching, I will be able to influence the next generation in cultural awareness and global citizenship. In turn those students will pass along their newfound perspectives to future generations as the wheel of life continues to spin.”
2018
Simbiat Taiwo, University of Minnesota
Simbiat Taiwo — Vadnais heights, minnesota
“I am Nigerian- American and a student at the University of Minnesota. A little bit about me is I am a book, food, and music lover. I applied for the Black Friday College Fund scholarship because it would give me a better chance at pursuing my education. Now with this scholarship, the financial burden of college is lighter. While I am here at the University of Minnesota, I am hoping to receive a degree in physiology and to pursue my dreams of becoming a sports medicine physician. When I think of a vision for myself, I think about being happy. No matter what I choose to do in my life or what career, I want to be happy with whatever choice I make.”
Ingram Arizmendi, University of North Texas
INGRAM ARIZMENDI — GRAPEVINE, TEXAS
“Receiving the Black Friday College Fund Scholarship will help me pay for my books and college. Being able to go to college will change my future, it will make me financially independent, and I would feel great knowing that I accomplished my goal of getting a degree in computer programming. I was born with Muscular Dystrophy and one of the biggest challenges of having been born with MuscularDystrophy is separating yourself from your disability. I would love to be a great example for my little brother, cousins, and other people with disabilities so they know that they can accomplish everything they set their minds to.”
2017
Mia Taylor, Loyola Marymount University
Mia Taylor — Chicago, Illinois
"Receiving this award will help me further use my hard won voice as I pursue my college studies. You see, until I was ten years old, silence was my best friend. Except for my immediate family, the rest of the world was totally deprived of my voice. I would nod, shrug, or gesture, using anything but sound to communicate. This silence wasn’t ordinary shyness; my silence was due to a childhood anxiety disorder called selective mutism. At home, I was free to be me. I’d sing, argue and ramble at all hours. Away from home, I was painfully mute. People who knew me then would have never imagined that communication would become my passion, my first love. ..."
2017
Yormelis Vazquez, Montclair State University
Yormelis Vazquez — Camden, New Jersey
“My childhood was dominated by adulthood; Instead of going outside or playing with dolls, I was helping my grandmother take care of my great grandparents in Puerto Rico. Every morning, I would wake up early just to watch my great grandpa feed the birds on the balcony, and during lunch, I ran home from school just to receive my great grand-mom's blessing. Eventually, the birds went unfed, and my great grandmother’s blessings became a memory that turned into a promise – I would never turn down opportunities that life presents. ...”