AMANETTE JEAN SESSOM MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP

As the Director of Student Support Services and the Ronald McNair Scholars programs at Hampton University, I have secured over $6.5 million in program and research funds for low-income, first-generation students and underrepresented minorities. As the Founder and Chief Academic Officer of TeachersBox, I have helped hundreds of students secure nearly $8 million in merit and need-based aid for college and graduate and professional school.  But I first got the idea that I could pursue a career in academia because Amanette Jean Sessom, my maternal grandmother who has consistently been the single greatest influence in my life, nicknamed me her “little professor” over forty years ago when I would not stop asking the million questions that drove my older siblings, aunts, and uncles crazy. Momma had a way of believing in you until you believed in yourself.

Amanette Jean Sessom was my backbone, my source of strength, and the wind beneath my wings. In addition to showering her progeny with unconditional love and unwavering support, my grandmother’s legacy encompassed the countless children for whom she provided safe passage to school every day. In that tradition,  I now direct multimillion dollar college access programs that have increased college persistence and graduation rates among low-income and first-generation students at Hampton University. And beginning in the Fall of 2019, one male and one female student will receive annual Amanette Jean Sessom Memorial Book Stipends in her honor.

​Eligibility criteria and the scholarship application will post to the TeachersBox website on June 1, 2019.  Applications will be due by June 30, 2019 and awards will  be announced on August 8, 2019.