Additional Students Named 2020 Summer Scholars, Expanded Cohort Becomes Largest in Foundation History

05.1.20

ANN ARBOR, MI, May 1, 2020 – The Joyce Ivy Foundation today announced the names of nine additional young women selected to receive scholarships to participate in summer pre-college academic programs at the Foundation’s partner colleges and universities. This brings the size of the 2020 Summer Scholars cohort to ninety-two, the largest in Foundation history.

“In a time of extraordinary challenge, when students are facing even more limited access to opportunities and community, we felt compelled to expand the cohort of Scholars,” said Brittany Knight, Executive Director of the Joyce Ivy Foundation. “Each year the number of deserving applicants far exceeds our capacity, but we are finding ways to stretch and are eager to support more of these young women who have the potential to pursue high levels of academic study and be future leaders.”

In addition to expanding the cohort size from eighty-three to ninety-two, the Joyce Ivy Foundation made a commitment to drastically reduce or in most cases, completely eliminate, any family contribution necessary for a Scholar’s participation in her summer academic program.

The Foundation has also launched a series of webinars, led by admissions experts from partner colleges and universities, to prepare students for the college application and financial aid process. These sessions are open to all female high school students in the Midwestern states Joyce Ivy serves, as well as the Joyce Ivy Scholars. For more information on all virtual events and webinars, visit our website.

“The current situation has provided us with an opportunity to do more for the students we serve and that is the positive that we are leaning into,” said Greg Lewis, Treasurer of the Joyce Ivy Foundation and member of the Board of Directors. “By supporting more Scholars with larger scholarships to connect with high-quality virtual learning opportunities, we are amplifying our impact.”

The 2020 Summer Scholars come from all seven of the Midwestern states currently supported by the Foundation – Michigan, Ohio, Nebraska, Missouri, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota – and attend 70 different secondary schools. For Scholars who come from schools that calculate GPA or class rank, 61% reported a 4.0 GPA or higher and 20% rank first or second in their class. About 60% qualify for the highest level of need-based scholarship and 35% will be the first generation in their family to attend a four-year college.

The 2020 Summer Scholars will use their scholarships to either participate in online programming through our college partners or on-campus programming next summer. The Joyce Ivy Foundation will celebrate its 2020 Summer Scholars at the fifteenth annual Scholars Gala on October 3rd in Detroit, Michigan, featuring an address by the 2020 Joyce Ivy Foundation Leader of the Year, Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice, Bridget McCormack. The Foundation will also honor two Women of Impact award recipients: Denise Fair, Chief Public Health Officer, City of Detroit Health Department; and Amy Peterson, Co-Founder and CEO, Rebel Nell. For the first time this year, the Joyce Ivy Foundation will also distribute a Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize the achievements and contributions of important female figures over the course of an entire career. The 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Shirley Lightsey, Past President of the Detroit Retired Civil Employees Association.

The 2020 Summer Scholars

Michigan
Lauren Adams, Romeo High School
Chisimdi Aguwa, Washtenaw International High School
Ayat Al-Abed, Crestwood High School
Shelby Alexander, Comstock High School
Zaharaa Altwaij, Crestwood High School
Cady Barterian, Benjamin Franklin High School
Rose Basch, Huron High School
Tori Bates, Detroit Edison Public School Academy
Gracie Blust, Gaylord St Mary Cathedral
​Morgan Butler, Wayne Memorial High School
Elise Essenmacher, Berkley High School
Mosammad Jahan, Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine
Camille Johnson, Renaissance High School
Rachel Kabala, Benjamin Carson High School of Science and Medicine
Hanna Khor, International Academy
Maya Kirkwood, Gull Lake High School
Katherine Knight, Portage Northern High School
Jada Lee, West Bloomfield High School
Hillary Luan, Northville High School
Ife Martin, West Bloomfield High School
Sofia Matsukova, Hillsdale Academy
Mirian Mendoza, Wayne Memorial High School
Heami Oh, Northville High School
Madison Olson, Charlotte High School
Lindsay Pico, Berkley High School
RoAnna Pollock, North Muskegon Public High School
Marielle Raasio, Houghton High School
Fanny Raskind, Houghton High School
Anna Rimatzki, Mercy High School
Amal Sayed, Dearborn High School
Raquel Segars, Mercy High School
Mindy Shimon, Marquette Senior High School
Jada Shorter, Renaissance High School
Lily Sickman-Garner, Community High School
Joann Sun, Huron High School
Claire Swadling, Canton High School
Linda Tang, Houghton High School
Elizabeth Tolrud, Owosso High School
Asmita Tuladhar, Canton High School
Hailey Westbrook, Wayne Memorial High School
Cathryn Wriska, Wayne Memorial High School
Karley Yung, Washtenaw International High School

Ohio
Zainah Amer, Beavercreek High School
Emily Arnold, Our Lady of the Elms
Alexandra Born, Madeira High School
Gabrielle Dennis, Ohio Virtual Academy
Amarie Dulik, Cleveland Central Catholic High School
Sarah Erickson, Batavia High School
Brooklyn Flanagan, Cleveland School of Science and Medicine
Ailis Hayden, Athens High School
Teddi Heberle, Pickerington High School North
Averi Lane, Benjamin Logan High School
Trinity Lee, Findlay High School
Christina Logvynyuk, Saint Joseph Academy
Alicia Luo, Sycamore High School
Shubhra Mishra, Walnut Hills High School
Aniyah Nelson, Hawken School
Zaneta On, Orange High School
Isabel Rubin-Alvarez, Oakwood High School
Kathleen Schreel, Kettering Fairmont High School
Isabella Scully-Tenpenny, Jackson High School
Tanasia Sears, Cleveland School of Science and Medicine
Mara Sims, Columbus School for Girls
Mackenzie Slagle, Toledo Christian Schools
Skylar Stephens, Glenoak High School
Tamyra Tate, Cleveland School of Science and Medicine
Andrea Udosen, Fairfield High School
Regina Williams, MC2STEM High School
Kaltra Woltz, Jackson High School
Molly Xiao, Hawken School
YiYa Zhang, Worthington Kilbourne High School

Missouri
Aya Amirdash, Hannibal High School
Sonia Carlson, Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School
Isabella Luca, Francis Howell High School
Emma McIntyre, New Haven High School
MercyJoy Muiruri, Hazelwood West High School
Jaden Southern, Hazelwood Central High School

Minnesota
Hafsa Abdalla, North High School
Leila Ambrus, DeLaSalle High School
Kenia Benitez Sanchez, John F. Kennedy High School
Tenzin Dedhen, St. Louis Park High School
Corrina Jones, Richfield Senior High School
Stephanie Momanyi, Providence Academy
Aaleyah Welman, Hope Academy

Nebraska
Nada Fadhil, Ralston High School
Josephine Ivy, Norris High School
Bella Madsen, Omaha South High School
Shelby Sanchez, Omaha South High School
Jocelyn Vazquez, Omaha South High School
Cleo Zagurski, Harry A Burke High School

North Dakota
Gabrielle McGarvey, Fargo South High School

South Dakota
Carly Wheeler, Lincoln High School

About The Joyce Ivy Foundation
The Joyce Ivy Foundation seeks to provide exposure, encouragement, and financial assistance to young women who have the academic, intellectual, and leadership potential to attend the nation’s most selective institutions of higher education. Funding for the Joyce Ivy Foundation is provided by individuals, other foundations, and corporations. Since its founding in 2006, the Foundation named 890 students from Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota as Joyce Ivy Scholars, providing scholarships for them to attend summer educational programs at partner college summer programs, and providing or leveraging $4.7 million in scholarship funding. For more information, please visit www.joyceivyfoundation.org or contact the Joyce Ivy Foundation at info@joyceivyfoundation.org or (734) 661-0229.