SABR Negro Leagues Committee awards scholarships in 2021 essay contest
SABR’s Negro Leagues Research Committee was pleased to award scholarships to four high school seniors in its 13th annual Thomas R. Garrett Scholarship essay contest in 2021.
Doniya Boyd of Chicago was awarded the Rube Foster Scholarship. She is attending the University of Oregon, where she is studying sociology and political science and hopes to attend law school. She hopes to be a lawyer in the criminal justice system and move on to political roles where she “can help change American social institutions for the better, and improve conditions for all Americans in the long run.”
Ian Rich of Roanoke, Virginia, was awarded the Jimmie Crutchfield Scholarship. He currently resides in Lynchburg, Virginia, as a freshman student at Liberty University, where he is studying Aeronautics. He is a private pilot and working on his full certifications to become a commercial pilot. His hobbies include aviation, sports, writing, and history. He also enjoys spending time with his family and friends, and serving in his local community.
Julian Thomas, of Springdale, Maryland, was awarded the Robert Peterson Scholarship. He is a graduate of Charles Herbert Flowers High School and is attending the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, where he plans to study aviation management with a career goal of becoming an air traffic controller. He became an Eagle Scout this past summer. In 2018, he completed the Ground School program as a member of the Youth in Aviation Program sponsored by the East Coast Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Incorporated. At 16, he won a Lego-based robotics competition sponsored by the Patriots Technology Training Center and attended NASA Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama.
Promise Egbu, of Arlington, Texas, was awarded the Tweed Webb Scholarship. He graduated from Mansfield Summit High School and is attending the University of Texas at Arlington, where he plans to major in Nursing. In high school, he was a member of the National Honor Society, Teen Leadership Association, and the varsity basketball and track teams. He was in the top 10 percent of his graduating class and completed high school at age 17, one year earlier than his peers, with Magna Cum Laude distinction. He is an active member of The Potter’s House of Dallas, where he serves as a teaching assistant for the children’s ministry. He has also volunteered at the Arlington Public Library, New-To-You Resale Shop, and the Feed My Starving Children organization.
The contest was open to high school seniors and carrying a minimum GPA of 2.5 at the end of their junior year. Students had to write a 1,200-word essay answering a question related to one of the Negro League figures who are the namesakes of the scholarships. The Foster, Webb, and Peterson scholarships were $1,000, while the Crutchfield scholarship was $500.
SABR’s annual Jerry Malloy Negro League Conference is the only symposium dedicated exclusively to the examination of black baseball history. Learn more at SABR.org/malloy.
Originally published: November 18, 2021. Last Updated: November 19, 2021.