The Roanoke Chapter of The Girl Friends, Inc. is proud to announce Elyse McFalls as its nominee for the 2020 National Girl Friends Fund Scholarship. She was selected as one of only 13 recipients for the national award.
Elyse graduated from Roanoke’s William Fleming High School this year as class valedictorian. She will attend Virginia Tech in the fall, with plans to focus on research and data analytics. Elyse, also plans to eventually earn a master’s degree, is the daughter of James Jones and Elayne McFalls-Jones. Elyse is the 10th Girl Friends Fund Scholarship recipient nominated by the Roanoke Chapter.
Deaquan Nichols, a 2020 graduate of William Fleming High School, is the recipient of the $1,000 Roanoke Chapter of Girl Friends Scholarship. Deaquan plans to attend Washington and Lee University in the fall and obtain a degree in biophysical chemistry. After completing work at W&L, he plans to enter UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Deaquan is the son of Ebony Glover-Epps.
This year, the Roanoke Chapter awarded its GF Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $750 to Taylor Morgan, a graduate of Heritage High School in Lynchburg, Virginia. Taylor, who was also enrolled in the Central Virginia Governor’s School, will enter the University of Lynchburg as a Westover Honors Fellow this fall. Taylor, who plans to study biomedical science, is the daughter of Kenneth and Tara Morgan.
Recipients of the Girl Friends Fund Scholarship are top high school seniors nominated by Girl Friends chapters across the country. Each year, the chapter seeks as applicants, qualified high school seniors from the Roanoke and New River Valleys, and the Lynchburg area as applicants.
The Girl Friends Fund provides awards of $1,500 annually for up to four academic years to qualified high school seniors who have been accepted to four-year institutions. For 32 years, The Girl Friends Fund, Inc. has fulfilled a philanthropic role in the form of service and financial support to African-American students across the country. The Roanoke Chapter has been consistently recognized as one of the top contributing chapters to The Girl Friends Fund.