| On Nov. 2, the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Foundation and the National Black Farmers Association (NBFA) awarded North Carolina A&T State University students Kamal Bell and Justin Walker two of their 19 inaugural scholarships.
Bell, a graduate student, was awarded $2,500 and Walker, a junior, was awarded $5,000. The NBFA Scholarship Program funded by the FCA Foundation awarded the scholarships to support the development of a new generation of African American farmers.
The criteria used to select the scholarship recipients included academic performance, demonstrated leadership and participation in agricultural and community activities, and career goals and objectives.
Bell is a lateral-entry teacher at Lowe’s Grove Magnet Middle School in Durham who received his undergraduate degree in animal science industry from N.C. A&T. He intends to apply his education toward a teaching license and becoming an agricultural entrepreneur.
Walker is already a successful farmer and agricultural entrepreneur. He is the sole manager of his family’s generations-old Caswell County farmland. With experience in growing soybeans, corn and tobacco, he is shifting his focus to conventional and organic vegetables.
Overall, the NBFA Scholarship Program awarded more than $87,000 in scholarships funded by the FCA Foundation. The foundation has announced that it will fund up to $100,000 in scholarships for a second year. Application information for 2016 will be available in early May.
The National Black Farmers Association is a non-profit organization representing African American farmers and their families in the United States. As an association, it serves tens of thousands of members nationwide. NBFA's education and advocacy efforts have been focused on civil rights, land retention, access to public and private loans, education and agricultural training, and rural economic development for black and other small farmers.
Since 1953, the FCA Foundation, the charitable arm of FCA US LLC, has invested more $500 million in charitable organizations and initiatives that help empower people, and build strong, viable communities. The FCA Foundation invests in programs that generate meaningful and measurable societal impacts in education, military, multicultural/diversity and youth development. |
