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Southern Company Propel, Disney and HBCU Week Foundation provide scholarships to HBCU students



10/25/2022

Spot $50,000 scholarships were awarded during HBCU Week college fair.


Southern Company Propel, Disney and HBCU Week Foundation provide scholarships to HBCU students
Djahnel Reid of Orlando, Fla., was named the recipient of a $50,000 Propel Student Impact Scholarship by Southern Company, Propel, Disney, and the HBCU Week Foundation on Friday. The announcement was made during HBCU Week at the Walt Disney World Resort, an event aimed at making a historically black college and university education a reality for local students.

The HBCU Week Foundation founded HBCU Week, which allows students to apply for scholarships and on-the-spot admission. This year's event was the first to be held at Disney, and it drew more than 50 HBCUs and 5,000 high school students, including seniors from Atlanta Public and Birmingham City schools.

Reid had planned to attend college close to home at Florida A&M University or Bethune Cookman University.

She is a senior at Maynard Evans High School in Orlando, Florida, and has a 4.2 GPA. Reid will be the first generation in her family to attend college, where she plans to study accounting and pursue her dream of owning her own accounting firm.

Bethune Cookman surprised her with an instant acceptance and an additional $25,000 scholarship.

"I have been working hard, my family is a little less fortunate and I was depending on scholarships so all I could say is thank God," said Djahnel Reid. "I wanted to go to an HBCU and Bethune Cookman was one of my choices. I know they are a school that has a nurturing campus for their students in their academics."

To cover tuition and fees, the Propel Student Impact Scholarship will be paid in four equal annual instalments. Reid's scholarship is the first of two offered this fall by Southern Company in collaboration with Propel and its partners to rising HBCU students. The second recipient will be chosen at Friday's college fair through an application process administered by the Propel Center. The recipient's name will be revealed on Thursday, November 10.

"We would like to extend our congratulations to Djahnel Reid as the award recipient," said Mike Anderson, Georgia Power Foundation’s senior vice president. "We are committed to cultivating the next generation's leaders, empowering them to invest in their futures and helping them achieve brighter outcomes."

"It's an honor to award this scholarship that will have a profound impact on Djahnel's academic future," said Waymond Jackson, interim CEO of Propel. "Propel's mission is to serve as a catalyst to help equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to excel as future civic-minded leaders."