PRESS RELEASE
Black Scholars Community Partnership Initiative
c/o The Urban League of Westchester
61 Mitchell Place
White Plains, NY 10601
BLACK SCHOLARS COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE
By Brenda L. G. Smith, Ed.D.
The Black Scholars Community Partnership Initiative will host its twenty-eighth annual Black Scholars Reception on Sunday, June 1, 2014 at Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY, during which time approximately 150 graduating high school seniors will be honored for outstanding academic achievement throughout their high school experience.
This year’s speaker, Mandi Nyambi, a former Black Scholar, is currently a Junior, studying at Harvard College. She is a premedical student and a degree candidate in the department of Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology. A graduate of Woodlands High School in 2011, Mandi was 4th in her graduating class.
At Harvard, she has been involved in a number of activities and organizations, which include the Black Students Association, Association of Black Women, The Harvard Crimson and the Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisers. A lot of her free time is spent either doing research in a limb regeneration lab in order to complete her senior thesis or pursuing her love of photography. According to Mandi, “If there is anything I have learned since going to college, it’s that students of color should never hesitate to pursue their passions. Minority students have consistently proven that there are few things they can’t succeed in, once they put their minds to it.”
After receiving her undergraduate degree, Mandi plans to go to medical school in order to develop a career as a surgeon in either the field of Oncology or Gynecology and Obstetrics. Her ultimate goal is to use her expertise as a resource for organizations like Doctors Without Borders and other non-profit international organizations.
According to Ms. Fay L. Fagan, Black Scholars Partnership Initiative Chairwoman, “We are very fortunate to have Mandi as this year’s keynote speaker. She has an exemplary record of academic excellence and service to her peers and the community. Additionally, our Black Scholars Partnership is a way of highlighting our young people and making sure that there’s an incentive for them to keep doing better.” Ms. Fagan also expressed gratitude to the following organizations that comprise the Black Scholars Partnership Initiative: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Pi Iota Omega and Zeta Nu Omega chapters; Delta Sigma Theta, Westchester Alumnae; Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity; The Links, Incorporated - The Greater Hudson Valley Chapter and The Westchester Chapter; Manhattanville College; Westchester Club of the National Association of Negro Business & Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc.; National Black MBA Association-Westchester/Greater Connecticut Chapter; National Pan Hellenic Council, Inc.; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. – Beta Alpha Alpha; Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. – Omicron Iota; Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity – Beta Psi Sigma Alumni Chapter; Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc.; National Association of Black Accountants; Westchester Alliance of Black School Educators; The Urban League of Westchester, Inc.; Westchester Community Opportunity Program; Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Gamma Xi Zeta Chapter; and the National Council of Negro Women, Westchester Section.
For additional information, contact:
Fay L. Fagan, Chairperson
(914) 699-8874