Meet the 2022 BGDB College Scholarship Winners
Congratulations to the 2022 Brown Girls Do® Inc College Scholarship winners!
This annual scholarship awards $2,000.00 to full-time college undergraduate students across any field of study. Get to know each of this year’s winners in the interviews below, where they share their goals for college and beyond.
Joelle
Photo: Joelle Kimbrough; shot by Angela Sterling
Joelle Kimbrough is a dancer based in Norman, Oklahoma. Joelle started dancing when she was 3, and started training seriously at 14. Now, she is pursuing a major in Ballet Performance with a minor in Biology at the University of Oklahoma. Other than dancing, her hobbies include science, cooking, traveling, and spending quality time with friends and family.
Related: College Tips for Dancers: Pair These Minors with your Dance Major
How did you find out about the scholarship?
I found out through Brown Girls Do Ballet’s Instagram and in an ambassador meeting.
What made you decide to apply?
I applied because I was seeking out scholarship opportunities and I knew BGDB offered a collegiate scholarship.
Why is it important for students and dancers to seek out scholarships?
It is important because higher-level education is costly and it helps not having finances be a deterrent to pursuing an education. As a result of this, you can be more fully focused on maintaining your studies, getting involved on campus, and working on your goals for college and beyond!
What are your goals for college or after?
My goal for college is to make meaningful relationships with people that I admire. I also would like to make a difference in my community at my college. After graduating college successfully, I would like to dance professionally in a ballet company as well as pursue higher education in medicine to focus on disparities within the black community.
What is most important for me in whatever I pursue is to be open to ideas and to never stop learning and growing. It is my hope to take the experiences I have learned and bring new perspectives and ideas to my community to make a difference and inspire the next generation of “Brown Girls”!
Related: 5 to Watch 2021: Joelle Kimbrough
Is there anything you’d like to add for anyone reading this?
Be open to new ideas and always stay true to yourself and who you are. Never let anyone tell you that you can’t, because like my mom and dad always said, “You can do anything you put your mind to!”
Keep up with Joelle and her dance journey by following her on Instagram!
Solei
Photo: Solei Niusulu; shot by Brian Guilliaux
Solei Niusulu, originally from Lawton Oklahoma, is a first-generation college student majoring in Dance at Texas Christian University. She started dancing when she was 7, but began her pursuit to dancing professionally at 15.
She has trained at summer intensives including Oklahoma City Ballet, the University of Oklahoma’s Dance intensive, and the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute. When she’s not dancing, Solei spends her free time reading or hanging out with her family and friends.
How did you find out about the scholarship?
I found out about the scholarship because I am a Brown Girls Do Ballet Ambassador, and I know of all the amazing opportunities this organization offers!
Related: 5 Reasons You Should Become a Brown Ballerina Ambassador
What made you decide to apply?
The scholarship seemed like an amazing opportunity that I happened to fit the criteria for. I knew I had to apply, and that it would be such a blessing if I got it.
Why is it important for students and dancers to seek out scholarships?
It is so important for students and dancers to apply for scholarships because you truly never know what you could get. Scholarships are a blessing and can help pave the way to your dreams like this scholarship is doing for me! It’s helping lessen the burden of paying for college for me, which is the biggest blessing I could ask for.
What are your goals for college or after?
It is my dream to dance professionally with a ballet company! I want to dance as long as I possibly can. Dance is my dream, and I hope to do it for the rest of my life.
Is there anything you’d like to add for anyone reading this?
I would just like to say that there are always going to be bumps in the road on your journey to success. Failure is always apart of the process; don’t let it set you back but let it motivate you! Anything is possible as long as you work hard and put your mind to it!
You can keep up with Solei and her dance journey by following her on Instagram!
Sophia
Photo: Sophia Cooper; shot by Joe Lyman
Sophia Cooper is originally from Lexington, KY, but is currently living in New York City, where she’s double majoring in Dance and American Studies at Fordham University and The Ailey School. Sophia started dancing when she was 2 at Diana Evans School of Dance. At 5, she began competitively dancing, which continued through my senior year of high school.
When she was 10, Sophia was accepted into her local performing arts school, School for the Creative and Performing Arts, where she also attended through her senior year of high school. When Sophia is not dancing, she’s usually creating in some other way. She loves to knit, crochet, and watch documentaries that satisfy her love for history.
How did you find out about the scholarship?
I am actually an ambassador for BGDB and I also manage most of the social media for the company, so naturally I knew about the scholarship. I even created some of the graphics that advertised the scholarship. I also helped encourage others to apply.
What made you decide to apply?
College continues to get expensive as the years go on, so I have always known that I needed to apply to as many scholarships as possible when it was my time to go to college. My parents have worked hard to ensure that I could train and study as much as possible, so I believe it is only fair that I work hard to find scholarships to help fund my education.
I also think it is very important to support businesses like Brown Girls Do Ballet. While taking a scholarship from a business doesn’t seem like you’re helping them, it really is. The business is offering scholarships because they care about impacting the world. If people don’t apply, their mission cannot be completed.
Why is it important for students and dancers to seek out scholarships?
Scholarships are especially important for dancers for many reasons. College is incredibly expensive, and for dancers, it can be even more expensive. On top of tuition, dance supplies like shoes and leotards can be really expensive, and with a rigorous dance college schedule, you go through them a lot faster. It is also important for dancers to decrease their tuition as much as possible because most dancing jobs post-college do not provide a high salary.
What are your goals for college or after?
After college I would love to join one of the Alvin Ailey companies. That was the biggest draw for me coming to the Fordham/Ailey BFA program. Ailey has always been incredibly inspiring to me and to this day I am immensely moved by their work. I saw them perform just two days ago, and I left the theater with a full heart and a lot of motivation to work even harder in my training.
Is there anything you’d like to add for anyone reading this?
My best bit of advice is to never give up on your dreams, even if they seem impossible. I spent the majority of my senior year unable to dance because of some surgeries I had to have. For a moment, I lost confidence in my dream to go to Fordham/Ailey, but I soon realized that I would always have a feeling of regret if I didn’t try. It turns out that just the simple act of trying changed my life.
You can follow Sophia on Instagram, and anytime you interact with the Brown Girls Do Ballet Instagram you’re also interacting with her!
Hannah
Photo: Hannah Norbeto; sourced from Brown Girls Do Ballet
Our final 2022 College Scholarship winner is Hannah Norbeto! Hannah is currently studying at the University of Mexico, where she is majoring in Population Health with a minor in Community Health.