My name is Elijah Robinson and I am a student-athlete and a College Career & Beyond | Midnight Golf class of 2026 mentee. Upon graduation I plan on attending Albany State University. I balance academics, sports, community service, and other programming throughout the year. My most significant accomplishment is participating in two international mission trips with my church, Kensington Community church. Community service has always been a part of my life. My mom encouraged my sister and me to volunteer from a young age, instilling in us the value of giving back to our community. Interesting fact I wanted to serve my community, but often times a caught grief from my friends when I couldn't do things with them. This early exposure laid a solid foundation for commitment, leadership, and personal growth, shaping me into the person I am today. I participated in two separate 8-day high school student mission trips to the Dominican Republic to assist local communities in need. During the eight-day mission trips I assisted with building and service projects. I worked with the children's camp. Finally. I assisted with various sports clinics activities and events. Each volunteer was responsible to bring something on the mission trip. Since I was in charge of the children's activities I purchased crayons, coloring books, and chalk. I remember the look on the children's faces when I shared the items I purchased. The children were so thankful and appreciative things that we in the United States take for granted. It warmed my heart to know I made a difference. I walked away from the mission trips with a deep appreciation of life, unconditional love, and opportunity of meeting new people. I discovered a higher confidence in how I present myself, and the desire to continue to give back to my community. This humbling path fuels my drive to study accounting in college where I can blend forensic skills with community impact, much like the real-world lessons from my volunteering. It's not just service; it's the personal growth that makes me ready for what's next. Domestically, as a member of the Southfield Esquires Mentoring Program, I participated in several community initiatives, including the Easter Box for Seniors, Adopt-A-Road Project, World Medical Relief drive, Christmas Project for the Homeless, and the Thanksgiving Holiday Project. Bringing people together whether domestically or internationally, created a sense of belonging by serving in roles where I connect, supports, and uplifts others through consistent community engagement and leadership has been an honor. My actions in service, sports, and faith-based activities show a pattern of making spaces more welcoming, especially for those who often feel overlooked. I discovered a new strength in myself and have seen how community service has influenced my growth. Outside of my community service work, I am deeply involved in programs that have helped shape me into a leader and a servant in my community through College & Beyond Midnight Golf, Accelerated Career Awareness Program, Upward Bound, and caddying at Plum Hollow Country Club. I have developed strong leadership, communication, and time-management skills. Thank you for the opportunity to be considered for the 2026 Hodge Legacy Community Service Scholarship.

My most significant accomplishment is participating in two international mission trips with my church, Kensington Community church. Community service has always been a part of my life. My mom encouraged my sister and me to volunteer from a young age, instilling in us the value of giving back to our community. Interesting fact I wanted to serve my community, but often times a caught grief from my friends when I couldn't do things with them. This early exposure laid a solid foundation for commitment, leadership, and personal growth, shaping me into the person I am today. Now my friends see the value in serving and look for opportunities to join me. I participated in two separate 8-day high school student mission trips to the Dominican Republic to assist local communities in need. During the eight-day mission trips I assisted with building and service projects. I worked with the children's camp. Finally. I assisted with various sports clinics activities and events. Each volunteer was responsible to bring something on the mission trip. Since I was in charge of the children's activities I purchased crayons, coloring books, and chalk. I remember the look on the children's faces when I shared the items I purchased. The children were so thankful and appreciative things that we in the United States take for granted. It warmed my heart to know I made a difference. I walked away from the mission trips with a deap appreciation of life, unconditional love, and opportunity of meting new people. I discovered a higher confidence in how I present myself, and the desire to continue to give back to my community. This humbling path fuels my drive to study accounting in college where I can blend forensic skills with community impact, much like the real-world lessons from my volunteering. It's not just service; it's the personal growth that makes me ready for what's next. Domestically, as a member of the Southfield Esquires Mentoring Program, I participated in several community initiatives, including the Easter Box for Seniors, Adopt-A-Road Project, World Medical Relief drive, Christmas Project for the Homeless, and the Thanksgiving Holiday Project. Bringing people together whether domestically or internationally, created a sense of belonging by serving in roles where I connect, supports, and uplifts others through consistent community engagement and leadership has been an honor. My actions in service, sports, and faith-based activities show a pattern of making spaces more welcoming, especially for those who often feel overlooked. If I could start my own charity, my mission be to A new program the Mike Morse Law Firm should consider is a quarterly give-back initiative that combines school supply support, mentorship, and family resource access in one place. It could rotate through Detroit and surrounding neighborhoods, offering backpacks, college readiness help, resume workshops, basic legal education, pet food support, and referrals to partner nonprofits. If I would start my own charity, I would create an initiative would help the community by reducing financial stress for families, improving school readiness, and connecting residents to practical resources they often cannot easily access. It would also strengthen trust between police and the community it serves by showing long-term commitment instead of only seasonal events.

My name is Elijah Robinson and I am a student athlete at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan. I have one sister who currently attends Michigan State University her first year. My sister made it to college, and I’m a high school senior chasing my own college dreams. I’m not a first generation college student, however, I understand that I am my own self and that it is up to me to prepare for my future, therefore, I am seeking scholarships from every opportunity. Black history is not just a story of struggle; it is a story of resilience, innovation, and belief in the power of dignity. For me, learning about the courage of those who came before people like Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and Shirley Chisholm has shaped how I see my purpose. Their stories remind me that progress often begins with one person refusing to accept limits placed on them. When Rosa Parks took her seat on that Montgomery bus, segregation was the defining social issue. Today, the fight continues, but the issue has shifted toward inequality in opportunity especially for young people from under-resourced communities like mine in Detroit. As decision day approaches my mom and I to sit down and look at the cost of attending college. The cost of tuition whether public or private has increased dramatically over the years and with funding being cut it makes it more challenging for students like myself who want to go to college face financial struggles. In my city, zip codes often determine the quality of schools, healthcare, and even personal safety. I see talented students who are just as driven as anyone, but who face barriers that others may never notice. That gap isn’t about ability it’s about access. Learning about the civil rights movement and the sacrifices made during that era pushes me to address those modern forms of inequality. Like Rosa Parks, I believe courage doesn’t always require a crowd. Sometimes it’s shown in quiet persistence, in taking education seriously, and in refusing to give up on yourself or your community. Since I was five, my mom taught me the value of service by volunteering at C.O.T.S. in Detroit, serving breakfast to families in need. That experience planted in me a lifelong commitment to help others. As a future forensic accountant, I plan to use my career to bring fairness and accountability to financial systems, using my skills to open doors for others. Being a young Black man in Detroit means that discipline, ambition, and consistency are my own forms of resistance. Black history gives me the blueprint to keep moving forward with purpose, pride, and the belief that change is always possible when we stand firm in who we are. My short-term goals are to join the campus accounting club and complete an introductory forensic accounting workshop.  I also want to secure a summer internship at the end of my freshman year with a local accounting firm to gain hands-on experience in financial auditing. My long-term goal after I graduate college is to land a role as a junior forensic accountant at a firm investigating financial fraud. As I pursue my master’sdegree I want to advance my career to a senior forensic accountant position, leading cases on corporate embezzlement. It’s important for me to earn my bachelor’s degree in business administration (BA) with a concentration in accounting so that I can began my professional career. Receiving The Brenda Baker Legacy Scholarship would assist me with my career aspirations as a forensic accountant.

Community service has always been a part of my life. My mom encouraged my sister and me to volunteer from a young age, instilling in us the value of giving back to our community. Interesting fact I wanted to serve my community, but often times a caught grief from my friends when I couldn’t do things with them. This early exposure laid a solid foundation for commitment, leadership, and personal growth, shaping me into the person I am today. Now my friends see the value in serving and look for opportunities to join me. As a member of the Southfield Esquires Mentoring Program, I participated in several community initiatives, including the Adopt-A-Road Project, World Medical Relief drive, Christmas Project for the Homeless, and the Thanksgiving Holiday Project. My passion for service also extends internationally through my church Kensington Community Church. I participated in two separate 8-day high school student mission trips to the Dominican Republic to assist local communities in need. During the eight day mission trips I assisted with building and service projects. I worked with the children’s camp. Finally, I assisted with various sports clinics activities and events. Each volunteer was responsible to bring something on the mission trip. Since I was in charge of the children’s activities I purchased crayons, coloring books, and chalk. I remember the look on the children’s faces when I shared the items I purchased. The children were so thankful and appreciative things that we in the United States take for granted. It warmed my heart to know I made a difference. I walked away from the mission trips with a deep appreciation of life, unconditional love, and opportunity of meeting new people. I discovered a higher confidence in how I present myself, and the desire to continue to give back to my community. This humbling path fuels my drive to study accounting at an HBCU, where I can blend forensic skills with community impact, much like the real-world lessons from my volunteering. It’s not just service; it’s the personal growth that makes me ready for what’s next. I helped bring people together and create a sense of belonging by serving in roles where I connect, supports, and uplifts others through consistent community engagement and leadership. My actions in service, sports, and faith-based activities show a pattern of making spaces more welcoming, especially for those who often feel overlooked. Through programs like the Southfield Esquires Mentoring Program, I participated in projects that directly support families, children, and individuals in need, helping them feel seen, valued, and not forgotten by their community. Serving at a local homeless shelter and helping provide food to families with my church also created moments where people in difficult situations felt cared for, respected, and included rather than isolated. Creating belonging on mission trips On his mission trips to the Dominican Republic, I worked side by side with local residents on building projects, children’s camps, and sports activities, helping bridge cultural and language gaps through service and kindness. By intentionally bringing items like crayons, coloring books, and chalk for children, he helped create joyful, shared experiences that made young people feel important and included, despite limited resources.

My name is Elijah Robinson and I am a Senior at Cass Technical High School in Detroit, Michigan. Right now I’m just a Cass Tech kid juggling homework, sprint practice, and this dream I carry: becoming a forensic accountant. Most people hear that and think "spreadsheets and taxes." But to me? It’s detective work. The evidence just hides in financial records. I want to follow money trails, find fraud, and hold people accountable when things go wrong. I initially wanted to be an engineer, but after attending camp last summer, we did an internship with the FBI. This internship opened up my eyes to other opportunities such as forensic account. Generally people think accounting is just Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Auditors, but forensic accounting was very interesting and would tap into multiple skills sets that I posse, but also explore new ones as well. Math always felt right to me. Solving problems? That’s satisfying. What pulled me toward forensic accounting was learning about cases like Enron. Those weren’t accidents. They were deliberate schemes that hurt real people. That’s when I knew numbers could tell the truth even when people tried to bury it. To really do this, though, I need more than being okay at math. I need to understand tax law. I need to know digital forensics. I need to see how money moves in complicated ways. That’s why Morehouse is the only place for me. Morehouse isn’t just another school. It’s where Black excellence is normal. Expected. As an HBCU, it gets the extra weight I’ll carry as a Black man in finance. When I visited campus, I didn’t just see buildings. I saw future leaders. Professors who actually look at you—not past you. Their motto about "bringing light"? It lands different here. Education isn’t just about degrees. It’s about becoming someone who lifts others up when they walk in a room. Their alumni? Everywhere. Doing big things in business, government, you name it. Those connections aren’t just for landing a first job. They’re for building a whole career. I plan to join the accounting club the minute I get there. Hunt for internships, even if it means my summers are spent staring at financial records instead of hanging out. If I’m lucky, I’ll study how money moves across borders too—since fraud doesn’t stop at some line on a map. This isn’t only about me. My family worked too hard to get me here. Mom’s double shifts. Dad’s quiet sacrifices. And it’s for my community too. Forensic accountants help protect small businesses, nonprofits, regular people. Maybe later I can show other kids like me that puzzles aren’t solved by being the smartest. They’re solved by not giving up.

My name is Elijah Robinson and I am a student athlete at Cass Technical High School. As a young Black African American, resources are already limited or not available which makes it difficult to but not impossible to succeed. Even though I’m in my last year at Cass Tech, I understand the importance of seeking scholarships early. Receiving this scholarship would assist me with the resources I need to attend college. Although I’m not a first generation college student, I understand that I am my own self and that it is up to me to prepare for my future. Last spring, I had the chance to take part in my first Black college tour, visiting eight Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), among them Morehouse College. Morehouse isn’t just another college, it’s a place where Black excellence isn’t the exception; it’s the expectation. When I stepped onto campus, I didn’t just see classrooms or dorms. I saw future leaders. I met professors who look directly at you, not past you, and a community where their motto about “bringing light” feels like more than words. At Morehouse, education isn’t just about chasing a degree, it’s about growing into the kind of man who lifts others the moment he enters the room. The Morehouse legacy travels far beyond Atlanta. Alumni are leading in business, government, and countless other fields across the nation and around the globe. Those connections aren’t just stepping stones to a first job, they’re blueprints for an entire career. I initially wanted to be an engineer, but after attending camp last summer, we did an internship with the FBI. This internship opened up my eyes to other opportunities such as forensic account. Generally people think accounting is just CPA or Auditors, but forensic accounting was very interesting and would tap into multiple skills sets that I posse but also explore new ones as well. To me forensic accounting is about detective work. evidence just hides in financial records. I want to follow money trails, find fraud, and hold people accountable when things go wrong. I plan on joining Morehouse’s accounting club my freshman year. The accounting club will provide access to resources such internships, mentoring, and career opportunities. If given the chance, I’d like to study how money moves across borders, because financial crimes don’t stop at state lines or shorelines. And while I know studying out of state will come with moments of homesickness, I’m just as ready to embrace the independence and responsibility that come with stepping fully into adulthood. “No two people share the same college experience. Just like a fingerprint each college experience is distinct, unrepeatable, and entirely your own. Receiving this scholarship would assist me with my career aspirations as a forensic accountant.