The Tom Joyner Foundation’s first Full Ride Scholar, Britney Wilson of Brooklyn, New York, is graduating Saturday with the highest honors from Howard University.
The native of Brooklyn, New York, Wilson is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Gamma of Washington, DC, is majoring in English, and heading law school in the fall. She maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average during her time at Howard University in Washington, D.C. and distinguished herself with many accomplishments.
“Words cannot express how grateful I am for what the Foundation has provided me,” Wilson said in an interview aired on the Tom Joyner Morning Show. “I’m on my way to law school in the fall and this journey would not have been possible without you guys.”
During her years at Howard, Wilson became a conscientious scholar and active in all facets of the community. She has been president of the campus’ Sterling Brown English Society, a columnist and opinions editor at “The Hilltop Newspaper,’ and was a 1st place winner in the undergraduate division of the S. Randolph Edmonds Young Scholars Competition where she presented a paper entitled, “Every Woman in No Man’s Land: Triumphs of the Modern Black Woman at the Expense of the Black Male Character in the Works of Lynn Nottage”. She also is a former columnist for The Hilltop, the university’s campus newspaper, and worked diligently to advocate the rights for physically challenged students on campus.
“I’m a black female and disabled, and I take my representation as all three groups very seriously,” Wilson said. “You just have to know that you can do anything you can put your mind to. For everyone out there who want to help other black scholars attend other HBCUs, support the Tom Joyner Foundation to continue its legacy of helping talented youth attend HBCUS.”
The Foundation, founded and led by nationally syndicated media personality and philanthropist Tom Joyner, chose Wilson in 2008 as its first winner of a “Full Ride Scholarship” that has covered her full tuition and stipends for room and board (on-campus only) and books.
The Foundation’s Full Ride Scholarship program chose Wilson in 2008 because of her outstanding academic record and her desire to attend a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). The Cathedral High School (New York) graduate maintained a 4.0 GPA and excelled in many areas. When chosen as the first Full Ride Scholar, the panel of judges said they were impressed with Wilson’s innate intellect that revealed her ability to discuss Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s foreign policy strategy and in the next sentence discuss the differences between East and West
Coast rap music.
Interested in studying law and politics, Wilson has had a distinguished high school career where she has been an active member of the Junior Statesmen Association that led her to spending last summer at Georgetown University. She also is a French and History tutor, a singer in the Gospel for Teen’s Choir and a semi-finalist in the Teen Poetry slam competition that is part of the Urban Word New York City Poets. For at least two hours a week, she is a Teen Health Initiative Peer Educator at the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Founded in 1998, the Tom Joyner Foundation has raised more than $60 million to help keep students enrolled in black colleges. It has assisted more than 21,000 students and worked with more than 100 HBCUs. For more information about the Foundation to TomJoynerFoundation.org.
