Birmingham Public Library: Smithfield Library Branch Manager Awards $500 STEM Scholarship

Press release from Birmingham Public Library:

Cheyenne Trujillo

March 02, 2022

This past Saturday, February 28, Leaders of Excellence hosted a fair in the Central Library's Grand Reading Room. Leaders of Excellence provides services to assist at-risk youth and young adults between ages 13—24, including awarding scholarships to a few participants. Students and young professionals talked with different universities and organizations to pursue their academic and professional goals at the fair. Leaders of Excellence formed to help young people transition into adulthood, feeling prepared instead of overwhelmed by new stresses and expectations.  And the Birmingham Public Library's Smithfield Library had the opportunity to be a part of that support system. Smithfield Branch Manager Sequoria Lewis awarded Huffman High School student Michael Wicks with a $500 academic scholarship. Sequoria Lewis shared her gratitude:   Spending Time Elevating Minds Scholarship (STEM) Established in 2019, the Spending Time Elevating Minds Scholarship is a private academic scholarship birthed from a love of education that Sequoria Lewis has. The S.T.E.M scholarship was created to encourage countless students who may be discouraged from seeking higher education because of disproportionate financial resources. This $500 award is given to a deserving high school student in the Jefferson/ Tuscaloosa County area whose aspirations are in science, technology, engineering, or math. The scholarship is awarded once a year in June.  A panel of judges chooses a winner who successfully submits an application, their plan to pursue an undergraduate degree in one of these areas, and a 250-word essay explaining why they would be best deserving of the award. The student would receive the award upon admission to the college/university of choice.

This press release was produced by Birmingham Public Library. The views expressed here are the author’s own.