The MLK scholarship winners from New London County are making significant impacts in various fields, showcasing their talents and dedication.
New London: The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Fund has been helping students in New London County for 57 years. Many winners have gone on to do amazing things in medicine, education, and law.
Take Lillian James, for example. She’s a 27-year-old doctor in her first residency year at Connecticut Children’s Hospital. She remembers hearing about the scholarship from teachers and during school trips to award dinners.
James, who graduated from New London High in 2014, still feels the excitement from that phone call a decade ago when she found out she won. “I was ecstatic, and I cried,” she said. It was a big deal for her, especially after all the hard work she put in.
Applying for the scholarship was no walk in the park. She had to write essays and face a panel for an interview, which was pretty nerve-wracking for a high school junior. But she nailed it, focusing her essay on her family’s strong work ethic.
James also shared that she was born with partial hearing loss, which got worse after a concussion in second grade. This experience inspired her to pursue pediatrics after earning her medical degree from Quinnipiac University. She credits the scholarship for helping her avoid debt during medical school.
Winning the scholarship also boosted her confidence. She had to give a speech in front of a big crowd, which helped her learn how to speak publicly. The fund started in 1968, the same year Dr. King was assassinated, and has awarded over 150 scholarships since then.
Another winner, Kiana Foster-Mauro, is now the state’s 2024 Teacher of the Year. She graduated from Robert E. Fitch High School and says the scholarship helped her connect with other passionate winners who became successful in various fields.
Foster-Mauro’s essay reflected on King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” and she uses that knowledge to teach her fourth graders about King’s legacy and the civil rights movement.
She graduated debt-free from the University of Connecticut, thanks to the $20,000 scholarship and others. “Those scholarships gave me the freedom to make choices about my studies,” she said.
Then there’s Trae Jennette, a 2010 winner who’s now an aerospace engineer in Los Angeles. He got inspired to pursue this path after attending an air show in middle school. Jennette works as a technical adviser for the U.S. Air Force and Space Force.
He also benefited from the King scholarship, which helped him graduate without student loans. “Because of the scholarships, I could focus on what excited me,” he said. Like the others, he fondly remembers attending scholarship dinners as a teen.
These stories show how the MLK scholarship is making a real difference in the lives of young people in New London County.
