For nearly 60 years, Brooklyn’s own, The Women’s League of Science and Medicine, has been flying under the radar in comparison to many of the borough’s larger non-profits, but its’ grassroots strength in awarding scholarships to students continues to grow.
And on Saturday, the organization gave out 18 new scholarships and 15 returning scholarships to young students at their 59th annual luncheon held at Glen Terrace, 5313 Avenue N in Flatlands. Established in 1960, the organization has grown in size, as evidenced by the packed luncheon, and continues to encourage the next generation of thinkers.
Keynote Speaker Assemblywoman Tremaine Wright (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights) recounted her own path through formal education, and how after completing high school she wasn’t sure what she wanted to major in and a guidance counselor advised her to follow her own interests and study whatever she wanted to study.
“I always loved to read. Toni Morrison and I were girlfriends in my head,” recalled Wright, who went on to attend Duke University as a literature major where African-American scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. was teaching at the time. “I read story after story and poem after poem and through my love for literature I learned about history and became a history major.”
From there Wright went on to study slavery in various cultures and times, which led to her a program to study in Argentina.
“In Buenos Aires, I was followed, touched and propositioned, but I survived a place that had no black people,” she recalled. “But Education aligned with my interests. My guidance counselor was right. Study whatever you want.”
And that message was delivered to both the students and attendees at the luncheon for the non-profit, non-sectarian organization, which has awarded nearly 900 scholarships and citations to aspiring students in its long history. This includes high school, pre-med, and college students.
In addition, the ‘League’ established an annual scholarship fund in the Department of Education at Midwood High School’s Science Institute at Brooklyn College. The League has also donated to the United Negro College Fund, and has further expanded their scholarships to students in the fields of law, education, social science, communication, and the arts.
“I learned of the scholarship through my grandmother,” said Eric Young, 20, of Bedford-Stuyvesant and one of Saturday’s recipients, who is going into his sophomore year at St. Johns University as a pharmacy major.
“Thee members in my family have been pharmacists and they inspired me. Most people view pharmacists as going into it for the money, but every pharmacist I know have deep ties with the people that come to them. They know their families and their children so it’s that kind of thing where they become part of the family,” Young said.
Madison Delgado, a returning scholarship recipient said she grew up in Younkers and learned about the The Women’s League of Science and Medicine scholarships through a counselor at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx. Originally, Delgado attended the University of Tampa in Florida, but recently transferred to Lehman Colleg in the Bronx to save money.
“The counselor suggested I apply because it was a scholarship for science,” said Delgado.
In her greetings, The Women’s League of Science and Medicine President Beverly Jones-Lawrence noted the theme of the luncheon was “Research the past, take action in the present and Innovate in the Future”
“We are confident that these students can and will meet the challenges. They are focused, poised academic and ready to pursue their goals,” she said.
