For DonorsFor Applicants

Pierson Family Scholarship for U.S. Studies

Funded by
user profile avatar
Pierson Family
$10,200
2 winners, $5,100 each
Awarded
Application Deadline
Aug 1, 2024
Winners Announced
Sep 1, 2024
Education Level
High School, Undergraduate
1
Contribution
Recent Bold.org scholarship winners
Eligibility Requirements
Financial Status:
Low-income
GPA:
3.5 or higher
Identity:
International and/or non-US citizen
Education Level:
High school or undergraduate

International students face a wide array of challenges when pursuing higher education.

Between language barriers, cultural differences, citizenship struggles, and more, there are many obstacles that can stand in the way of a student achieving their academic goals. The financial cost of college can also be overwhelming for international students, as they often have fewer options for financial aid.

This scholarship aims to support international students who want to pursue higher education in the United States.

Any high school or undergraduate student who is from a low-income background, an international and/or non-US citizen and has at least a 3.5 GPA may apply for this scholarship, but those from Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Rwanda are preferred.

To apply, tell us about your background and what inspired you to pursue higher education in the U.S., and what your plans are for after you graduate.

Selection Criteria:
Ambition, Drive, Need
Published January 22, 2024
Essay Topic
  1. Please tell us about your background (family, community, and educational) and what inspired you to pursue higher education in the United States.
  2. Tell us about a challenge(s) you have overcome and what you have learned from this experience.
  3. Tell us about somebody who has inspired you.
  4. What are your post-graduate plans?
400–600 words

Winners and Finalists

September 2024

Finalists
Gabriel Mbey-Ogbonnaya
Matthew Taiwo
Sally Kwabiah
Hugo Nkusi Singiza
Fidelia Nguembou
Binyamin Seifu
Chukwuma Gbemudu
michael nwachukwu
Andiwam Mkpong
Lorraine Kayanja
samuel Arowolo
Manuella Ojok
Bamlak Sisay Gebreegziabher
Melat Legesse
Ore Isola
Beulah Onuzurike
Rachael Akwa
Katia Gwaneza
Chukwuemeka Anayo-Ezikeoha
Favour Ogueri
Onyinyechi Agbo
Favour Kayode
Lisa Keza
Aderinsola Adeoye
Angel Akujor
Leroy Gawu-Mensah
eniola falaiye
Veronica Igbojioyibo
Olivia Aghamie
Nmesoma Ozougwu
Nwachukwu Izuogu
Rokibat Adepoju
Thariwat Umar
Patrick Mbaya
Divine Michaels
inioluwa Gboreoluwa
Oluwafunke Oladokun
Natnael Tadesse
CHIZUBEREM FERDY-MBAGWU
temi ola
Mutoni Henriette Isimbi
Sharleen Masera
Lester Junior Yorkmbomenyi Tindatie
Khanyi Malumo

Winning Applications

Diana Dokyi
Mississippi State UniversityStarkville, MS
Growing up in Ghana in a lower-class family, where access to basic necessities like food was a daily struggle, taught me the value of resilience and determination. Despite the limited opportunities, I learned to capitalize on every chance that came my way. My educational journey has been marked by numerous challenges, but I have consistently demonstrated my ability to adapt and thrive. During my high school days, I witnessed my father's debilitating battle with a disease that left him paralyzed for years. This misfortune forced my mother to shoulder the responsibilities of the breadwinner, placing a heavy burden on our family. In response, I became creative and resourceful, opening a small food shop to help alleviate food insecurity exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This venture not only improved my family's financial situation but also provided me with the resources needed to continue my education. In school, I co-founded the We Aid You Smile Foundation, which supported street children and women from low-income households. I also led the Gifted Hands initiative, teaching young girls valuable skills like crocheting, making necklaces and earrings, and crafting bags with beads to generate income in order to limit their over dependence on men. Furthermore, I helped establish Food On Wheels, providing nutritious meals for street children. These experiences solidified my passion for social work, a field dedicated to enhancing people's welfare and providing essential resources for their development. As someone who has experienced hardship, I am driven to be a source of hope for others. Social work resonates with me because it seeks to improve the economic, social, and biological state of individuals. I am eager to provide support and resources to those in need, empowering them to overcome challenges. Pursuing this dream in the United States has presented new challenges, including securing a stable income to cover educational expenses and living costs. I often rely on borrowed materials such as textbooks and computer, or my mobile phone to complete tasks, which hinders my academic progress. Despite these obstacles, I remain committed to becoming a social worker, and I believe that this scholarship will be instrumental in helping me achieve my goal. Academic achievements alone are insufficient to complete this journey. To truly make a meaningful impact, I need to overcome various challenges that lie ahead. Receiving this scholarship would be a vital step in addressing these obstacles, empowering me to become a dedicated social worker who can be a pivotal part of someone's success story. Ultimately, this support would enable me to contribute to creating a brighter, more compassionate world, where I can make a lasting difference in the lives of others.
Osemudiame Kingsley-Odia
New York UniversityBROOKLYN, NY
SATURDAY MORNINGS: WITH FOURS 20. Draw the blinds and set the timer; it's another Saturday morning. For my family, the last day of each week meant reviewing, tidying, and planning—consistently as a heartbeat. But, as soon as my mum's door opened that day, I amplified the ABBA Gold album with our SONY HT-S20R subwoofer. Jumping out from behind the parlor chairs with my siblings and dad to shout "Happy Birthday," my mum was genuinely taken aback. Mum had instilled in us the value of consistency, so few things surprised her. Even then, as we swayed to the pop-disco that animated every Saturday morning of our childhood, I counted the dessert trays on the walnut-brown center table—four. 16. 4±1-year-old, on a rainy Saturday morning, I laid out the sixteen chess pieces for each player, opening the game with my older sister. Losing all eight pawns halfway to the other side, I threw a tantrum, striking her with our wooden chess board. Moving to the suburbs four years later, I realized the chess board and 'tetchy-me' were misplaced in transit. My mum, acknowledging my temper and sweet tooth, had taken a four-month baking class and taught me to channel my energy into kneading dough and practical activities. From crafting recipes to martial arts, I understood my emotional patterns, reaching the other side: once a tetchy pawn, now a noble knight. Though neither clad in shiny armor nor legendary as Sir Galahad, I enlivened student council meetings and community get-togethers with homemade treats. 12. Four hours past noon [4:00 pm], my siblings and I began our 12-minute walk to the community church. Tending the barren fields in our new suburban residence had replaced board games on Saturday mornings; for the evenings, I learned catechism or trained altar servers. Interacting with ecosystems, natural or human, I became enthralled by the intricate balance and interdependence that governed both, eager to understand the underlying (neural) processes and be part of such stories. Armed with my mum's green fingers, I moved on from fertilizing our fields with guano and preparing herbal remedies to starting an ornamental garden at our community church and an eco-club in high school. 8. Multiplying by ten [80] equals the number of senior students enrolled in my high school pioneer peer-tutoring sessions, and by a hundred [800], estimates the number of students I represented as the Head Boy on the Student Council. As these journeys progressed to a close, I matched my interests with the next step: college and career. Doing this consistently, as with my Saturday morning chores, I realized that whatever I had embarked on, my mum had inspired me to see it through to completion. However, the end appeared elusive for higher education in my home country—Nigeria. Frequent academic strikes and political tensions had rendered the system inconsistent, spanning more than four years. Even then, pursuing a neuro-engineering career was not feasible—bioengineering was barely a nascent field. 4. Snapping back to the present as I review my course schedule on this fine Saturday morning, I dare to complete Ian Fleming's quote: "Once is a chance, twice is a coincidence, thrice is a pattern" with "quarce is a factor." Regarding higher education, four is one of the pinnacles of academic excellence [GPA] I aim for, besides being the typical span of years. Armed with the advanced resources and stable environment of a U.S. education, I aspire to combat neurodegeneration—increasing life expectancy—by my fourth year at college. Upon graduation, I would continue at medical school and launch my biotech company, ODIAX—"Odia" is my family name, and "X" marks the problems we'd solve.
Osemudiame Kingsley-Odia
New York UniversityBROOKLYN, NY
"CHECK THE DICTIONARY" Staring at me unapologetically while I doodled with my little orange pencil in my notebook, my father reiterated, "Check the dictionary." The clock chimed two hours to midnight, yet all attempts for him to define the dozen-and-one words in my fourth-grade vocabulary assignment proved futile. Dad believed they were mere combinations of alphabets, so I needed to roll up my sleeves. Now and then, when Dad insisted that my siblings and I peruse the dictionary for such answers, we always found them in there. I became accustomed and then looked forward to playing Scrabble on Saturday mornings and receiving encyclopedias and puzzles, not video games, as presents. Indifferently, then eagerly perusing these, I gradually understood that no solution was elusive. There is always an answer. But how do I find it? Growing up with my paternal family of philosophers, I learned to seek the rationale behind concepts. Playing ball games demanded spatial awareness and proprioception; drawing, my favorite pastime, insisted on continuing a dot across a blank paper. To even exist within my comfort zone, I desired to understand the underlying principles, as everything seemed to have one — its algorithm. If every seemingly new idea were a slight modification or yet-predictable application of a basic concept, wouldn't every challenge be surmountable once I grasped the algorithm? Was I running on an algorithm? Bird-watching or Rubix-cubing, I considered such possibilities, taking my brain on a wild joyride while appreciating [cyclical] problem-solving patterns. Developing an interest in neural processes, I stumbled upon a WIRED article on Irish neurosurgeon Phil Kennedy, who — in an attempt to induce synthetic communication in ALS patients — hacked his brain and almost lost his mind. Enthralled by the possibility of fusing a career in medicine with engineering, I recall dragging my thirteen-year-old self out of bed the following day, having stayed up late, eager to debate the ethical concerns with my eighth-grade class. Leading such conversations in my high school community catalyzed my interest in neuro-engineering. Still, as this field is yet nascent in my home country — Nigeria — I feared these ideas would only go as far as insightful break-time conversations, and once again, seeking my father's counsel to surmount this, I learned to "step back." I embraced 'earthcare,' starting with dissolving non-biodegradable polymeric foams (salvaged from appliances' packaging) in petrol to produce homemade styrofoam glue for leather shoes and boiling homegrown 'acalypha wilkesiana' as an herbal remedy for my younger cousin's dermatitis then moving on to synchronously pioneering an ornamental garden in my community church and the Friends of Nature Club in high school. Opening myself to the joys of ambiguity, I revitalized my curiosity through the nuances of ecosystems [nature's balancing act] and insightful interactions in the communities I created. By stepping back, I gained two significant insights. The first was the focal point of my diverging interests — restoration. My "restorative" instincts had kicked in to combat challenges in my family and communities and now, ultimately influence my post-graduate plans — designing sustainable nano-biopolymers to reduce amyloid build-up accounting for most neurodegenerative diseases, ultimately increasing life expectancy, perhaps right from the embryo. The second was that I could get closer to these dreams by stepping farther from my comfort zone, perhaps as far as 30.57˚N and 92.33˚W from my home country — the United States. Through higher education in the United States, I aim to continue my quest in its diverse and innovative communities, where each mild gesture or grand measure refines the quality of knowledge and broadens my horizon, tapering my fears.

FAQ

When is the scholarship application deadline?

The application deadline is Aug 1, 2024. Winners will be announced on Sep 1, 2024.

This scholarship has been awarded, but we have hundreds more!
Find a perfect scholarship now