Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1518483
44 maconmagazine.com | April/May 2024 WHITE HOUSE HBCU SCHOLARS "I go by this famous quote by Nikki Giovanni in everything that I do: that the unwillingness to try is worse than any failure. You might be scared, but as we say here [at Fort Valley], you must empower the possible through your actions and just see that light that's in the valley." So says Jamyra Hayes, a second- generation Wildcat studying business management. Hayes and fellow student Elisha Cloy were chosen as two of just 102 White House Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Scholars in the entire country, the second year Fort Valley State University (FVSU) has had two students accepted into the program. The scholars are chosen nationally by for their academic achievement, campus and civic engagement, and entrepreneurial ethos. After a trip to Washington, D.C., to meet the other scholars, they advocate for HBCUs and connecting other students to resources on their own campus. "Growing up, I always went to schools where I was the minority, so I just wanted something different. I really wanted to broaden my horizons on my own culture and meet the people that I never really grew up with," explains Cloy, a family and consumer sciences major. Both women are from Georgia, and both already have mapped out their futures. Hayes has been working on a "Wildcat Wall Street" student organization while Cloy intends to pursue speech language pathology for children. Cloy believes the scholars initiative can make an impact in other students' lives. She said, "I think it's important for fellowship, seeing that other Black students can be successful in whatever they choose. Just being around people that look like you can be important."