Megan Briggs Announced as 2016 Alumnae Scholarship Recipient

ANN ARBOR, MI, April 19, 2016 – The Joyce Ivy Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to the academic advancement of high-potential female high school students from the Midwest, recently announced the names of seventy-eight young women receiving 2016 summer scholarships for pre-college study at highly selective colleges and universities. From the group of 2016 Joyce Ivy Foundation Summer Scholars, Megan Briggs, a sophomore at Mason County Central High School in Michigan, has been selected to receive the 2016 Alumnae Scholarship.

Since 2013, alumnae of the Joyce Ivy Foundation Summer Scholars program have engaged in an annual “Pay It Forward” fundraising campaign to support a scholarship for a current Summer Scholar. To date, the Joyce Ivy Foundation has named 555 Summer Scholars, including seventy-eight members of the 2016 cohort. The alumnae campaign seeks to collect small donations from alumnae – as well as donations alumnae raise in their local communities – with the idea that small contributions add up and have a big impact.

“The lovely thing about our organization is that we are not only cultivating incredible young women into Scholars and leaders, but providing them with another way to give back,” said Natalie Hurst, 2016 fundraising co-chair, and Joyce Ivy Foundation Fellow and alumna. “After the life-changing experience of attending a summer program, our JIF Alumnae are motivated to make that experience a possibility for others. This is evident in the huge response we get from asking them to fundraise to support a 2016 Scholar. While most people look at fundraising as a burden, our Scholars are driven to give back. It truly reflects the character of our organization.”

The 2016 alumnae campaign is on track to raise $4,000, a new record.

“As a JIF alumna, I knew of the many opportunities that the Joyce Ivy Foundation provides for their Scholars,” said Mira Sanghvi, 2016 Fundraising co-chair and Joyce Ivy Fellow. “The JIF Alumnae Scholarship is an amazing joint effort put together by the JIF Fellows this year. It is a great chance for the JIF Alumni and Fellow community to come together to make a difference.”

Megan Briggs has been selected as the 2016 recipient of the Alumnae Scholarship. Megan is involved with her dance team and performs ballet, jazz, and pointe. She works as a page for her local library throughout the year, and she volunteers at Grace Adventures Camp during the summer. Megan is also part of Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) and the National Honor Society.

“The Selection Committee was very impressed with Megan,” said Allison Jegla, Joyce Ivy alumna, Senior Fellow, and a member of the Summer Scholars Selection Committee. “We believe that Megan will be greatly impacted by meeting students who are equally passionate and driven. Our hope is that being part of a summer program at Washington University in St. Louis will expand her worldview and instill in her the confidence that she has what it takes to thrive in a highly selective environment. As Megan progresses through both her summer experience and the years ahead, we hope that she feels the support of the alumnae that have come before her.”

“I am so ecstatic and honored to be the recipient of the Alumnae Scholarship!” said Megan Briggs. “With this scholarship, I will be able to learn alongside other students from around the world who are passionate about the same things I am, all the while gaining experience in the career field that I want to go into and getting a taste of what college life is like. I am excited to be broadening my horizons, and growing as a person and as a scholar through this program. My goal is to take what I learn as a student and a leader and use it to inspire other young women in my community. None of this would be possible without the financial support from Joyce Ivy. I never thought that I would get this opportunity, and I am so incredibly grateful to everyone at the Joyce Ivy Foundation who made this possible.”

The 2016 Joyce Ivy Foundation Summer Scholars are among the most diverse and academically talented students in the Foundation’s eleven-year history. Summer Scholars have the opportunity to study at 11 partner colleges and universities: 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.