2021 Award For Excellence In Business Commentary Scholars
Sponsored by The Coca-Cola Foundation, this scholarship is awarded to high-achieving undergraduate Black students attending a four-year college or university.
The 2021 class received a one-time scholarship in the amount of $10,000 to assist with educational expenses for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Adonista Bob-Grey
Adonista Bob-Grey is a sophomore public relations major, business administration minor from Lawnside, New Jersey. She was a member of McKinsey & Company’s 2020 Freshman Diversity Leadership Academy and has consistently remained on the dean’s list with a 4.0 GPA. She currently holds the position of Public Relations director for Spotlight Network, Howard University’s official student-led news network operating under WHUT: the first Black owned and operated public TV station in the country. Bob-Grey has been an active member of the NAACP CEE Youth Council for five years, where she previously served as the third Vice President. Bob-Grey was a recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award after serving over 100 hours within one organization in one year, working with seniors suffering from severe Alzheimer’s and dementia. While these are only a few highlights, Bob-Grey will always be committed to academic excellence and fulfilling Howard’s motto of truth and service.
Chuma Azinge
While playing an active role as a student-athlete on the Men’s Basketball team at Georgetown University, and constantly working to garner experiences that will help him on his way to a successful career in the financial services, Chuma Azinge has the goal of creating opportunities for young Black students who may not have access to the training and skills necessary for professional opportunities. In addition to internship experiences in Capital Markets, Consulting, Private Equity, and soon Investment Banking, Azinge serves as a mentor in Georgetown’s Minority Students Club for those seeking a career in Business and leads outreach for a Black-owned and student-run hedge fund called BLK Capital Management, which focuses on giving young black students an education in investing. While working to accomplish his goals and help his peers, Azinge has kept a strong standing in his studies, twice being awarded a position on the Big East All-Academic team.
Debbie Boakye-Donkor
Debbie Boakye-Donkor is a senior at the University of Florida studying finance. Boakye-Donkor is passionate about service and leadership development. Her passion for serving others, in particular the Black community and first year students, stems from the challenges she faced as an immigrant and her own personal struggles during her freshman year in college. During her time at UF, Boakye-Donkor served as a community affairs chair in the Black Student Union, a Resident Assistant, an official student ambassador as a Florida Cicerone, and as a peer academic advisor in the business school. Professionally Boakye-Donkor has attended numerous early identification programs with Blackstone, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Citi. Additionally, she has accepted an internship with JPMorgan for the upcoming summer and is a member of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity. Boakye-Donkor is a recipient of the Florida Academic full tuition scholarship and two merit scholarships in the business school.
Demetrius Johnson Jr.
Demetrius Johnson, Jr. is a third-year economics major at the University of Chicago. He is President of the Theta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, which he revived at the university. He is also a member of the University’s Chicago Maroon varsity football team and a two-time Midwest Conference All-Academic selection. After the social unrest occurring last summer, Johnson founded the Black Letterwinning Athletes Coalition (BLAC) at the University of Chicago, an organization designed to amplify the needs of Black student athletes at predominately white campuses. An Odyssey Scholar, Johnson also tutors Chicago high school students on financial literacy through Moneythink Mentors. Johnson is part of the selective Financial Markets Program of the Trott Business Program; a member of UChicago Private Equity; and an analyst in BLK Capital Management, a 100 percent Black-owned, student-run hedge fund based at Harvard University. In January 2021, Johnson was named the first undergraduate student to win the Diversity Leadership Award.
Jade Blanchard
Jade Blanchard is a marketing major from Chicago at Howard University. Blanchard has recently completed her internship with the world-renowned toy company Radio Flyer, as their first brand ambassador/human resources fall and winter student. Her activities include Howard University Showtime Marching Band Dance Line, where she currently is on the social media council. Blanchard is also training to become a School of Business Team Leader next fall for a group of 15 freshman School of Business students. She worked diligently with the Poor People’s Campaign during Howard University Day of Service as a volunteer telemarketer. Through all her accomplishments, Blanchard has earned a position on the School of Business dean’s list.
Joshua Honorat
Joshua Honorat is a junior at the University of Florida on a five-year track where he is majoring in industrial and systems engineering in a combined degree program, Master of Science in Finance. He serves as an official student ambassador, tour guide, analyst in a student investment fund, pro-bono consultant to small businesses in his local community, and president of the International Engineering Ambassadors. He will be returning to KPMG the summer of 2021 as a CIO Advisory intern. Honorat is also a part of SEO and MLT Career Prep Class of 2023, which aligns with his purpose to challenge inequalities within STEM and finance fields by providing equity and knowledge to underprivileged and unrepresented communities. Honorat has been recognized as a KPMG Case Competition US Champion, Florida Bright Futures Scholar, ASEE Student Video Contest Winner, and Silver Knight Award Finalist.
Kenneth Reynolds
Kenneth Reynolds is an honors business management major at Howard University from Dyersburg, Tennessee. He is involved in the School of Business Executive Leadership program. Through the program Reynolds has accrued knowledge of executive level operations through partnerships with 12 Fortune 500 honors corporate sponsors. Reynolds is also involved in the School of Business Student Council where he serves as intern to the president. In this role, he advocates the concerns of students in the School of Business and helps the president with day-to-day operations. Reynolds is a mentor for the Junior Achievement program of Greater Washington. Reynolds spends eight hours a semester mentoring students on the core components of creating a startup business.
Ni’A Landon
Ni’A Landon is a current honors student at Florida State University, majoring in public relations with a minor in business and a concentration in multicultural marketing communications. Landon’s leadership roles include being a second year Resident Assistant, programming chair of Service Scholars, and the Director of Communications for Movement, a student government organization. She is a current digital marketing intern at Universal Pictures, where she has developed comprehensive competitive reports, decks, and audits on past and present digital campaigns. Before Landon’s role at Universal Pictures, she was a fellow of the Multicultural Advertising Internship Program with Ogilvy. She dedicates her time to serving the community as a mentor for pre-collegiate students and a teacher assistant at Kids Inc., a local head start program for at-risk families. Landon is an honors student, who has been awarded as a 2021 Most Promising Multicultural Student, Bank of America Student Leader, and WPP’s Next-Gen Leader.
Rachel Romaine
Rachel Romaine recently graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a double major in International Business and Management Information Systems with a minor in Digital Business. She is now pursuing a STEM-designated MBA at RIT. Rachel was a 2021 ELC Award for Excellence in Business Commentary Scholar. Rachel is heavily involved in her professional business fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi, where she is currently serving as the VP of Scholarship and Awards, and was previously the VP of Finance. Rachel was a student mentor through the Saunders College of Business Leadership Academy, a Junior International Consultant through RIT Dubai, and a Business Development Representative Intern with Helium Inc. Rachel is hard of hearing and was a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Research Assistant, where she focused on the experience of d/Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students at RIT. She aims to help others like herself in the future. Rachel enjoys traveling and learning about different cultures. After graduating, Rachel aspires to work for a global company, tying in both business and technology.
Shydae Blaine
Shydae Blaine is a senior in the School of Business Executive Leadership Honors Program at Howard University, studying international business with a concentration in entrepreneurship. Blaine is interested in starting her own business in fashion/retail that will be geared towards helping create generational wealth within the Black community. By pursuing international business, Blaine will get the opportunity to go abroad with her business, giving more access to who she can help. On campus, Blaine is heavily engaged with all facets of student life. She also holds an office position with the Undergraduate Student Assembly, a member organization as well as apart of multiple campus-partnered programs such as JBL Sound Sessions and Cross Colours Mentorship Program. Raised in Newark, New Jersey, she spends her free time volunteering/tutoring at her previous elementary school, reading and writing poetry, and spending time with her mother and younger brother.
