The Roanoke Chapter of The Girl Friends, Inc. is proud to announce that Kierstin Cunningham, the chapter’s nominee for the 2024 National Girl Friends Fund Scholarship, has been selected as one 16 recipients of the national award.
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 colleges and universities.
“The Girl Friends Fund, Inc. is very proud to highlight the talented, energetic, and successful students who have been awarded our scholarships,” representatives of The Girl Friends Fund, Inc. said. “Our scholars recognize the importance of giving back to their communities. Many have volunteered in their hometown communities and around the world. The Fund commends our scholars for their outstanding accomplishments.”
Kierstin is a 2024 graduate of Roanoke’s William Fleming High School, where she was an honor student and actively involved in clubs such as the National Honor Society, Key Club, the NAACP, and “Be That Girl,” an initiative that helps women lead self-determined lives, fulfill their potential and help their communities prosper.
Kierstin said that balancing a 4.0 GPA – while remaining active in clubs and organizations, serving her community, and working a part-time job – has been a testament to the values her mother, Christie Cunningham-Taylor, instilled in her. She will attend Virginia Commonwealth University, where she plans to major in Finance/Accounting. Her educational goal is to obtain a Master of Business Administration degree.
Recipients of the Girl Friends Fund Scholarship are top high school seniors nominated by Girl Friends, Inc. chapters across the country. Kierstin is the 14th consecutive Girl Friends Fund Scholarship recipient nominated by the Roanoke Chapter to receive the award. Each year, the chapter seeks as applicants, qualified high school seniors from the Roanoke and New River valleys and the Lynchburg area.
For 35 years, The Girl Friends Fund, Inc. has fulfilled a philanthropic role in the form of service and financial support to Black American students across the country. The Roanoke Chapter has been recognized consistently as one of the top contributing chapters to The Girl Friends Fund.
In addition to the Girl Friends Fund Scholarship, Kierstin Cunningham is recipient of this year’s Roanoke Chapter of Girl Friends Scholarship, in the amount of $1,000!
The Roanoke Chapter’s GF Memorial Scholarship, in the amount of $750, is awarded to Kamille Gunn, a 2024 graduate of Patrick Henry High School and an honor student whose course work at Patrick Henry included numerous AP and Dual Enrollment classes, and was also active in many extracurricular and community activities to include the Boys and Girls Club, Upward Bound at Virginia Tech, the Patrick Henry High Student Council, The Noteworthy Club, the track team, and volunteering with the Angels of Assisi, the Rescue Mission and Total Action for Progress. Kamille will attend Hampton University where she plans to major in Elementary Education. She is the daughter of Phillip and Kim Gunn.
President of the Roanoke Chapter of The Girl Friends, Inc. is Jennifer Alston; Vice President is Beth Sinkler. Chair of the chapter’s Scholarship Committee is Thelma Haynesworth.
