Promising Scholars Fund
One generation mentors the next, helping high achieving and community-driven Black students from area high schools succeed in education and life.
The Promising Scholars Fund supports the Edward A. Bouchet Scholarship, which provides outstanding young Black students in the region with financial assistance along with mentorship from a community of successful Black professionals. The scholarship award was founded by the graduate fraternal organization Beta Tau Boulé, the New Haven chapter of Sigma Pi Phi, the oldest continuous Black Greek-letter fraternity in the country.
The scholarship has made 147 awards totaling over $500,000.
Honoring Excellence
The Beta Tau Boulé created the scholarship in 1987 to carry out a founding pillar of their fraternity: to enhance and elevate the under-served Black community from which many of them had come. They created the award in honor of Edward A. Bouchet, the New Haven native who went to Yale and became the first Black American to earn a Ph.D.
In 2022, The Fund established two additional scholarship awards in honor of Miss Anna Louise James, the first woman pharmacist in the state of Connecticut.
Support and Mentorship
Scholarships average $6,000 per year for up to four years and are presented during a luncheon award ceremony. Award winners are welcomed into a community of successful Black lawyers, doctors, businessmen, academics and other professions who provide mentorship, guidance and support.
Award Criteria
- High academic achievement
- Demonstrated leadership within their school community
- Active engagement and service to their community
- Outstanding character
- Commitment to excellence
Scholarship winner James Brockington now co-owns the highly successful Tia Russell Dance Studio. In a conversation with his mentor, Carlton Highsmith, he tells the story of how his life changed after the night of the Bouchet award ceremony. Recorded on StoryCorp.
Continuing the Legacy
The Beta Tau Boulé Promising Scholars Golf Classic is the annual fundraising event for the scholarship. The 2022 event will be held on Monday September 26th
at the Race Brook Country Club in Orange, Connecticut. For more information, contact Erik Johnson.
Are you a student looking to apply?
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