A Brenau University student recently was awarded the Eduardo Uvaldo Memorial Scholarship, which aims to lessen the financial burden of pursuing higher education for a scholar who has been impacted by gun violence.
Adjai Howard was this year’s recipient of the $500 undergraduate scholarship. Howard is a first-generation college student who is earning a business degree and hopes to obtain an MBA.
The scholarship is funded by Bold.org donor Uvaldo, in memory of Eduardo Uvaldo who tragically lost his life to gun violence.
“Eduardo Uvaldo is remembered by his friends and family as a delightful presence who was always accompanied by others,” the scholarship description reads. “His death was a tragedy, and unfortunately not a singular occurrence. This year, more than 534 people lost their lives to a mass shooting incident.”
The scholarship prompted applicants who have lost a loved one to share in a 400-600 word essay how the loss has changed their life and describe how they’ve learned to manage grief while also juggling a school workload. While those who have lost a loved one due to gun violence or mass shootings were given a preference, anyone who has lost someone was able to apply for consideration. Applicants also were required to have at least a 3.0 GPA and currently be an undergraduate student.
Howard is the second annual scholarship recipient chosen by Uvaldo and was officially named the winner on July 8.
