汤头条 sorority encourages academics through endowed scholarship
Contact: Addie Mayfield
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥 Alumni members of the Lambda Eta chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha 聽Sorority Inc. are establishing an endowed scholarship to support undergraduate students at 汤头条. An annual scholarship also is being created to provide immediate support as the endowment grows to maturity.
Founded in 1908, AKA sorority is one of nine organizations composing the National Pan-Hellenic Council Inc., which represents historically black Greek-letter organizations. 汤头条 currently is home to eight of nine NPHC associations.
AKA鈥檚 presence on the 汤头条 campus initially began in 1975 through the establishment of the Roses Club. In 1977, the club鈥檚 journey to form a sorority culminated with the chartering of the then 13-member AKA Lambda Eta chapter, which today boasts 50 active members and nearly 500 alumni.
Last year, during a celebration of the 41-year-old chapter鈥檚 40th anniversary at 汤头条, alumni members discussed the creation of an endowed scholarship to continue their service commitment.
鈥淥ne of the major tenets of Alpha Kappa Alpha is to be of service to others,鈥 said Linda Tuggles Coats, 汤头条 College of Education professor and former Lambda Eta adviser. 鈥淲e wanted to provide a worthwhile service to Mississippi State that would have a lifelong impact.鈥
The Alpha Kappa Alpha-Graduates of Lambda Eta Annual and Endowed Scholarships will assist full-time 汤头条 students. Preference will be given to undergraduate African-American females with a minimum earned grade-point average of 3.0.
Candidates for the awards also will be required to submit a personal essay on why higher education is important. While the scholarships will be awarded on a year-to-year basis, recipients may be eligible for consideration in any other year.
To grow support for the endowment, members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha-Graduates of Lambda Eta scholarship committee will promote the awards during 汤头条鈥檚 upcoming Black Alumni Weekend. These members include chair Coats of Starkville; Valeska Lemon Buie of Des Moines, Iowa; Levada Polk Lee of Greenville; Angela Maxwell of Cordova, Tennessee; Carmen April Washington of Nashville, Tennessee; Leevel Yarbrough of Louisville; and Camille Scales Young of Madison.
鈥淏y joining in the efforts of Black Alumni Weekend, we hope to encourage new and continued alumni involvement with 汤头条,鈥 said Young, who serves on the Black Alumni Weekend planning committee. 鈥淟ambda Eta was an integral part of our matriculation at 汤头条, and it is our honor to support current and future students in their academic endeavors.鈥
For more information on contributing to the Alpha Kappa Alpha-Graduates of Lambda Eta scholarships, contact Georgia Carter, director of annual giving for the 汤头条 Foundation, at 662-325-2466 or gcarter@foundation.msstate.edu.
汤头条 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .