Meet our Scholars for Q2 2020
The Manhattan Prep Scholarship has a multi-year tradition but we’ve been working hard to make this scholarship better each year. Our goal this year is two-fold: Improve our scholars’ experience by focusing on impact beyond removing the financial barrier of a class and offer more scholarship opportunities to students.
Typically, we’re able to serve three students a quarter. In order to meet our commitment in 2020 to expand our scholarship opportunities, we are partnering with trusted partners to increase this number. During this past quarter, Management Leaders For Tomorrow worked with us and will continue to work with us through this year to identify students to join our Scholars’ ranks.
We are so proud to announce these ten scholars for this quarter. This is an incredible group of students and we’re humbled to be with them on their journey. Congratulations to our Q2 2020 Scholars!
Meet our scholars, in their own words:
DEVJANI DEY BRINDA:
Like thousands of immigrants entering this great land every year, I also came here four years ago to establish myself in the world of Accounting. To gain an in-depth knowledge about the functioning of large corporations, I started my journey as a field-level associate with a large lifestyle retail chain. The opportunity to communicate with people from various backgrounds and of asserted roles is strengthening my insight regarding how accounting concepts and figures work in reality. My previous roles as an Accounting lecturer, project manager, and art teacher taught me many important skills that I still apply in difficult situations. When not studying, I love cooking traditional and exotic dishes, gardening and playing with my 3- year old daughter (actually, this is the other way around, I can study only when she lets me do so).
FRANCISCO FELIZ:
Francisco Feliz is an entrepreneur in real estate development in the Greater Boston area. Prior to that, he was an equities research associate at Wellington Management, analyzing the financial statements of companies across different sectors around the globe. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Yale University. In his spare time, he loves to play basketball and to travel (when Covid allows it again). Francisco is also an MLT Fellow.
ANDREA FLORES:
Andrea Flores was born and raised in Dallas, TX. She is a first-generation graduate from Texas A&M University in College Station with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Communications and Journalism. During her studies at Texas A&M she was the first Latina to serve as the institution’s Senior Class President. She has a strong interest in pursuing a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree and having a seat at the table as a woman of color. She is grateful to be a recipient for the Manhattan Prep scholarship which will enable her with the tools and resources to successfully take the LSAT exam and push forward towards law school.
ALEXANDER HUNTER:
Alexander joined Intel in 2017 as a Design Automation Engineering in the Design Enablement Group. He graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in March 2017 with a B.S. and M.S in Electrical and Computer Engineering. During his undergrad he minored in Spanish and became fluent after studying abroad in Chile for 6 months. His hobbies include spending time with family, traveling, playing basketball and especially cooking. He loves to mentor students to see them grow and accomplish goals that they did not once believe were possible. Alexander is also an MLT Fellow.
OLIVIA INGRAM:
My name is Olivia Ingram. I am a Systems Trainer and Process Analyst from Birmingham, Alabama. I attained my undergraduate education at Dillard University in New Orleans and graduated with a Bachelor of Science. Pre Covid- 19, when I was not traveling or hiking, I was volunteering at Children’s of Alabama. However, currently I can be found curled up with a good book.
ESEQUIEL JIMENEZ:
My name is Esequiel Jimenez. I am twenty-five years old. I was born and raised in sunny Southern California. I graduated from California State University at Long Beach with a bachelor’s of science in Kinesiology with an option of Exerciser Science. I was an athlete growing up, which played an important factor in my aspirations of pursuing a career tailored in rehabilitation in athletics. However, my experiences expanded soon after graduating in which I exposed myself to rehab outside the scope of athletics. As a result, I was able to learn more about rehabilitation in different settings such as pediatrics and geriatrics.
I currently work with the geriatric population as a rehab aide for a health care provider in my community. More specifically I work under a program that helps patients maintain independence by avoiding nursing homes, and instead, receive the care and services necessary to help them stay safe, comfortable, and healthy living in their own homes. This exposure has enabled me to better understand the needs of individuals living in our community. Working with the older folks reminds me of my own grandparents and how I wish I was this knowledgeable and equipped with the right tools to help my grandma when she suffered a stroke in her last year of life.
My goal moving forwards is to commit myself to treating every patient with dignity, respect, and compassion as if I were treating my own family. I challenge myself each and every day to make a difference in someone’s life. I am excited to see what God has in store for me and aspire to attend a competitive graduate occupational therapy program that will prepare me for any obstacle I face in the near future.
RAFIAT KASUMU:
Rafiat is originally from Philadelphia, PA but currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. She wants an MBA to further hone key analytical and problem-solving skills needed to be a leader in business who others want to follow. As a diversity & inclusion advocate, she eventually hopes to build programs and environments in the technology industry that further foster inclusion. While the world works from home, she’s been trying to cook something new each week and picking up some new podcasts (How I Built This, The Michelle Obama Podcast). Rafiat is also an MLT Fellow.
UGO OBILO:
Ugo graduated from Temple University, earning his Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Accounting. He then earned a Master of Accountancy and Consulting from Villanova University. He enjoys philanthropy and has started an annual campaign to bring much needed nutrition and dental supplies to children in Nigeria. He also loves to travel, play sports, and exercise when he has time away from working and volunteering. Ugo is also an MLT Fellow.
MABINTOU OUATTARA:
My name is Mabintou Ashley Ouattara, and I am a first-generation college student from Silver Spring, Maryland. I recently graduated with honors from Towson University where I majored in Sociology & Anthropology with a Criminal Justice Concentration. Through this accomplishment, I became the first member of my family to earn a college degree. As of now, I am taking a gap year in order to complete a congressional internship. As a single-parent, my mother has always worked hard in order to support our family. Her aforementioned experiences have motivated me to take each opportunity I am presented in life, such as the Manhattan Prep Scholarship, seriously. Since I started preparing for my undergraduate career, I have maintained my vision of becoming a lawyer. I would like to become a criminal defense attorney because over two million people are currently incarcerated in the U.S., the majority of which are poor and of color. Because I know that my purpose in life is to fight for those who cannot afford to adequately defend themselves. Ultimately, I hope to eventually work for The Innocence Project in order to help exonerate wrongly incarcerated individuals.
RUTH PEREZ:
Ruth currently works as a Senior Associate assisting in the development of the Bank’s Agency platform and reviewing, structuring and sizing potential agency transactions. Ruth came over to JP Morgan after working at Wells Fargo, where she began her career in their Middle Market Banking Group and most recently worked in their Multifamily Capital Group on Affordable GSE lending.
Ruth graduated from the State University of New York at Oswego with a B.S in Finance and a minor in International Business. She currently serves as a Coach to first generation, low-income college students for Management Leadership for Tomorrow’s (MLT) Ascend Program, Women’s Led for MLT’s NYC Alumni Chapter, and Board Member of New Settlement, a non-profit based in The Bronx. Ruth is also an MLT Fellow.
The Manhattan Prep Scholarship is offered year round to students with need. To find more information, resources, and to apply, visit: www.manhattanprep.com/scholarships