Gloria Stowers was looking to break a generational pattern. At 70, she has now become a college graduate!

101-year-old Sarah Simpkins is on track to obtain a college degree alongside her granddaughter.

Thanks to this partnership, students will receive funding to ensure they will reach the finish line at their university. According to a press release, the Anheuser-Busch Foundation has donated $200,000 to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) for the second year in a row. The investment will allocate up to $2,500 for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) who need funding to fulfill their degree requirements. In 2021, 69 students were awarded financial assistance to walk across the graduation stage. “I would like to sincerely thank UNCF and Anheuser-Busch Foundation for the scholarship which enabled me to become a LeMoyne-Owen College graduate,” said Braxton Miller, a biology major at the college, in a statement. “I want to truly thank UNCF and Anheuser-Busch. You saved me when I had to pay for not one but two courses I had to take. You truly and honestly blessed me,” James Wilson, a Benedict College graduate who majored in criminal justice...

At 21-years-old, Zindzi Thompson will reportedly make history as the youngest Black female to graduate from Meharry Medical College.  

When Dr. Jalaal Hayes started his educational journey, he didn’t know it would lead him on the path to becoming the youngest person to hold a doctorate degree in applied chemistry from Delaware State University (DSU). Dr. Hayes was only 22-years-old when he earned his doctorate degree from DSU in December 2015, and he was the youngest candidate in the Historically Black College and University’s 124-year history. The road to this accomplishment wasn’t always the smoothest for him, and at times, he even doubted he’d make it here. “The hardest part was staying focused and reminding myself of the goal,” Dr. Hayes told AfroTech. “That goal was graduating college, so I just made sure I didn’t have time to get distracted.” Dr. Hayes went to George Washington Carver School of Engineering and Science in Philadelphia. He describes this as one of the premiere science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) schools in the city, since you had to apply and test into it. When he was...

An 87-year-old college graduate — Harold Franklin Sr. — has endured a long battle on his educational journey to earn his master’s degree and 51 years later he can finally say he’s obtained it. On Jan. 4, 1964, the then-graduate student stepped onto Auburn University’s campus as the first Black student to integrate their campus in pursuit of his master’s degree, Face 2 Face Africa reports . Upon his arrival, the university denied Franklin admission and a dorm room to which the Talladega native followed through with a lawsuit. Back in 1963, Federal Judge Frank Johnson ruled that Auburn allow him to enroll. However, his master’s thesis was repeatedly rejected up until 1969, preventing him from earning his degree. “I thought I did a good job on the thesis,” Franklin told AL.com . “One professor told me mine had to be perfect. I came back and made the adjustments they suggested.” “They still complained about this or that. I had been to the thesis room and read the white kids’ thesis,” he...

In a time where Black people have so many threatening factors working against us, young people are still shining stars in academic excellence. According to ESSENCE , Jacksonville teen, Martin Folsom — a graduating senior from A. Philip Randolph Career Academies — successfully secured the title of class valedictorian despite battling homelessness through his school years. Graduating at the top of his class was no easy task, but Folsom saw it through proving there’s nothing that can stop determination. “It means a lot and it gives me a sense of all I’ve done and all I have accomplished was worth it,” Folsom said in a video addressing Duval County Public Schools’ class of 2020. “It’s been a rocky road, a lot of hardships. But seeing myself now about to graduate, about to go to college—it feels good knowing all the stuff I’ve done was worth it.” Folsom grew up living in shelters, but above it all, he was able to serve as class president from his freshman to senior year and his peers...

Ashley Williams has mastered the art of practicing Black girl magic, and the proof is not only in her master’s but her law degree that she earned the exact same week. Before you ask — no, she wasn’t enrolled in a dual program, she actually attended two different universities located in two states at the same time. In 2019, Williams earned a master’s degree in political management from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., just two days later received her JD from the University of Pennsylvania, according to Because of Them We Can. To add to the abundance of Black girl magic, Williams completed her master’s while she was working as a special advisor and director of special projects to the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues. “I was really interested in beginning a program that would allow me to build upon my undergraduate degree, love for politics, and allow me to continue working. I knew I needed to grow. The Political Management degree at GW was perfect,“...