N.C. A&T First-Year Students Receive Sallie Mae Bridging the Dream Scholarships

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Dec. 19, 2024) – Two first-year students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University are among the 40 nationwide winners of Sallie Mae’s Bridging the Dream Scholarship. Sallie Mae named the honorees in a news release announcing more than $400,000 in scholarships awarded to support access to higher education.

Mira Reynolds (pictured top l), of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Kennedy McCormick (pictured top r), of Riverview, Florida, excelled both inside and outside the classroom. To help meet their demonstrated financial need for college, each received a $10,000 scholarship from The Sallie Mae Fund in partnership with Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

Reynolds, a graduate of Leesville Road High School, is majoring in chemical engineering. She has already made significant strides in her career path, having served as a volunteer intern at Biogen. She is also a Future of STEM Scholars Initiative (FOSSI) Scholar and a Thurgood Marshall College Fund Scholar.

“As a child, I aspired to be various things, but I always wanted to be a scientist,” Reynolds said. “Now, I aim to innovate the healthcare field and medical science.”

McCormick is a graduate of Riverview High School majoring in marketing and aspires to own her own business. She is also an active member of the 100 Collegiate Women organization. Her drive to help others led her to dedicate her birthdays to childhood hunger relief by generating support and contributions to Feeding Tampa Bay. After hearing of her efforts, General Mills donated nearly 50,000 boxes of cereal to help feed area children over the summer when they weren’t in school.

“I want to make a name for myself and manage my own successful business,” McCormick said. “To my younger self, I would say: ’Stay faithful work hard, stay focused. Trust that everything will fall into place because it truly will.’”

The Bridging the Dream Scholarship for High School Seniors provides $10,000 to students from under-resourced and underrepresented communities. In addition, Sallie Mae offers free tools and resources to help students and families confidently navigate to, through and immediately following higher education.

“Our Bridging the Dream Scholarship helps make higher education more accessible and affordable for underrepresented and under-resourced students,” said Caron Jackson, manager of corporate communications for Sallie Mae. “Since 2021, we’ve awarded nearly $4 million in scholarships, including $10,000 each this year to 40 high school seniors, 30 of whom are attending historically Black colleges and universities.”

“Our ongoing partnership with The Sallie Mae Fund allows us to reach even more students who once thought higher education was beyond their reach,” Thurgood Marshall College Fund President and CEO Harry L. Williams, Ed.D., said. “The Bridging the Dream Scholarship reflects our shared commitment to creating more affordable pathways to higher education.”

“Access to higher education can be life-changing, especially for those from underserved communities,” said Nic Jafarieh, executive vice president, Sallie Mae. “Every scholarship granted is another step closer to ensuring every student, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to better themselves through education.”