83 Named Joyce Ivy Summer Scholars

ANN ARBOR, MI, April 1, 2020 – The Joyce Ivy Foundation today announced the names of eighty-three young women selected to receive scholarships to participate in summer pre-college academic programs at the Foundation’s partner colleges and universities, including Barnard College, Brown University, Cornell University, Emory University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Smith College, Stanford University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University. The Joyce Ivy Foundation will work closely with partners to determine the safest format for summer programs this year, whether on-campus or through virtual options, and is confident that each Scholar will have a meaningful opportunity to stretch her comfort zone with an enriching academic experience.

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 64 different secondary schools. This year’s recipients were selected from one of the largest applicant pools in the Foundation’s history, 388 applications in total.

“We were particularly impressed by the academic strength and diversity of this year’s applicant pool,” said Allison Jegla, Vice President for Program Development and Member of the Summer Scholars Selection Committee. “These young women are leaders in their high schools, activists in their communities, and thoughtful classmates and friends. Our 2020 Summer Scholars truly represent the talent and potential across the Midwest.”

For Scholars who come from schools that calculate GPA or class rank, 62% reported a 4.0 GPA or higher and 20% rank first or second in their class. About 65% 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.

“It was inspiring to review the applications for our 2020 Summer Scholars Program,” said Brittany Knight, Executive Director of the Joyce Ivy Foundation. “Now more than ever, we are committed to supporting, celebrating, and welcoming these fantastic young women into our community. Joyce Ivy is more than a scholarship, it is a community and source of mentorship and peer support. Summer programs may be offered on-campus or virtually, but we know it will still be so important for the 2020 Scholars to connect with peers and professors from all over the world. We look forward to providing them with an additional layer of encouragement and support beyond their high school communities.”

Two of the 2020 Summer Scholars will also be recipients of special named awards, including the Mary Vandewiele Leadership Award and the Joyce Ivy Alumnae Supported Scholarship. The Foundation will announce the 2020 award recipients next week.

A total of eight 2020 Scholars are participants in Minds Matter, a national organization that provides lower-income students with multi-year college preparatory mentoring and support. The Joyce Ivy Foundation, Minds Matter Cleveland, Minds Matter Detroit and Minds Matter Twin Cities will jointly fund the scholarships for the Minds Matter Scholars, in collaboration with the summer program partners.

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
Tori Bates, Detroit Edison Public School Academy
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 881 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.