After taking a year off from LMU due to financial hardship, Shakeel Joyce ’21 received some life-changing news. He had just been awarded an African American Alumni Association scholarship for the 2019-20 academic year.
“This scholarship has enabled me to continue my education and be able to graduate and walk the stage,” said Joyce. “It also made a difference in my life by knowing that other people, presumably strangers, believe and invest in me to continue my educational journey.”
For many students, financial aid and scholarships are the deciding factor in choosing which college to attend. It’s not unusual for students to be faced with the difficult decision to forgo their first-choice university due to a lack of financial aid and the overwhelming burden of debt after graduation.
Thanks to our generous donors, AAAA has awarded scholarships to 90 students totaling approximately a half a million dollars this academic year. Since its establishment in 2003, AAAA has provided more than $2.8 million in support to nearly 300 outstanding LMU students, including Joyce.
“The AAAA scholarship has showed me that hard work, dedication, resiliency, and effort are rewarded,” said Joyce, a political science major. “I am proud to be a student here at LMU."
To support other students like Shakeel, please make a gift to the AAAA Scholarship here.