Historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C., has established a scholarship fund to help students who are facing financial hardships as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The university has heard from students and parents who have lost jobs or are facing other hardships related to the COVID-19 outbreak. All of the money in the fund will be used to give immediate, need-based scholarships to prospective May graduates in all 13 schools and colleges of the university, to assist them as they continue working towards their diplomas as planned.
The university has already taken steps to help students by refunding portions of students’ room and board, waiving seniors’ graduation fees, and returning fees for student activities, parking, and labs. The university is asking alumni to support the fund. Donations to the Howard University Alumni Association Emergency Scholarship Fund may be made here.
“We have all been impacted by COVID-19, but Howard students have been hit especially hard,” says Sharon Strange Lewis, director of Alumni Relations whose daughter graduated from Howard University in 2017. “As a Howard alumna and the parent of a Howard graduate, I understand the level of excitement, anticipation, and pressure students feel when they’re about to graduate. This fund was created to support those graduating students who have experienced unforeseen hardship caused by the outbreak. Our hope is that each gift, no matter how small, will allow us to do something great for these students.”
