Teen facing homelessness gets accepted to HBCU

By Sheyla Fairley

After spending three years unhoused with his family, 19-year-old Jeremiah Armstead was recently accepted into Fisk University, Nashville, TN, and will be majoring in kinesiology.

Additionally, Armstead will be playing for Fisk University men’s basketball team, with former Los Angeles Clippers basketball player Kenneth Anderson serving as the university’s head basketball coach.

Armstead’s mother, Mindy Brooks, has stated that he inspired and motivated his younger siblings to want to attend college in the near future.

“I just want to show people that’s in my circumstances like ‘don’t stop.’ Don’t ever think of giving up because just like that, stuff could change,” expressed Armstead in a release.

Partnership between Boss Women Media and Cash App for HBCU Tour

By Sheyla Fairley

Boss Women Media, an online hub for career and business-minded women, has teamed up with Cash App, a mobile payment service, to launch the Ambitious Girl HBCU Tour 2022.

According to an article, Ambitious Girl is “an event series for college-level Black Women focused on career readiness, financial inclusion, leadership, and networking while providing an empowering community dedicated to inspiring, equipping, and celebrating them as entrepreneurs and thriving corporate queens.”

The event series will take place at Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL; Howard University, Washington, DC; Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA; and Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN; “every Saturday for four weeks” beginning September 17 and ending October 15, 2022.

For more details, read the full article here.

N.C. A&T receives $10M from DOE to establish clean energy research center

By Sheyla Fairley

Funded by a $10 million grant from the Department of Energy, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC, will open the Center for Electrochemical Dynamics and Reactions on Surfaces (CEDARS).

As stated in a release, CEDARS will be “led by Dhananjay Kumar, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering,” and will focus on “splitting hydrogen and oxygen from water to produce clean hydrogen for energy use.”

“This is a crown jewel award from DOE that has never been awarded to an HBCU until now,” Kumar said. “Not only will we be working on clean energy initiatives, we will also be involved in enhancing diversity, inclusion and equity by involving high school, undergraduate and graduate students from historically underserved backgrounds in our research.”

FAMU graduate and artist to display murals on campus tour  

By Sheyla Fairley

Elijah Rutland, founder of Fix My Sole, graduated from Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL, with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design earlier this year. He recently returned to FAMU as a commissioned designer to produce a mural he created for the campus as part of Xfinity’s HBCU tour.

According to an article, Xfinity’s HBCU tour is “a project that will visit 11 campuses to highlight Black artists, filmmakers, musicians and content creators.”

“I’m always proud when alumni like Elijah come back to showcase what they do and show students what they can become,” said School of Journalism and Graphic Communication Dean Mira Lowe. “It’s very inspiring and motivational for our students, and it means a lot to me as a dean to see alums give back to a school they went to.”

For more information, read the full article here.

Claflin unveils monument to honoring female veterans

By Sheyla Fairley

Claflin University, Orangeburg, SC, presented to retired U.S. Army Brigadier General and Claflin University alumna Twanda “Tia” E. Young its Veteran Women Monument, honoring her and other Claflin alumnae who served in the military.

“It is an honor to have broken that door open for other cadets of the program to be able to see female-wise what they can do and what can be accomplished,” Young said. “I hope that it is a testimony to not only females but males that if you put in the hard work and have the right focus and have a forge of people that are willing to support you and tell you when you are doing well and to kick you little bit when need be.”

Read the full article, here.