This scholarship is named in honor of Amadou Diallo, who came to the United States in 1996. Amadou immigrated to New York City in 1996, hoping to pursue a college degree in Information Technology. His ambition and dreams ended when he was shot multiple times by four New York City police officers on February 4, 1999. He was innocent, unarmed, and seeking shelter and safety in the vestibule of his apartment building when he was murdered. Since his death, his mother, and the trustees of the Amadou Diallo Foundation (ADF) have dedicated themselves to promoting racial healing and positive community interaction with law enforcement, as well as supporting scholarships to help students complete their college degrees.
In Spring 2023, the ADF is relaunching its scholarship program at Guttman Community College. The scholarship will support full tuition and fees for two students. In honor of Amadou’s passion for IT, the ADF has a special interest in supporting Guttman students who are Information Technology majors and will also consider students who are pursuing other majors. For Spring 2023, the ADF hopes to award the scholarship to at least one continuing student who is an Information Technology major and one other Guttman student. First-year students who have not yet declared they’re major are encouraged to apply.
The ADF will consider applications from all current and incoming Guttman students. Students of all genders, races, religions, and immigration statuses are encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to students who are active in Guttman’s United Men of Color Group (UMOC). Preference will also be given, but not limited to, students who are not eligible to apply for federal and/or New York State financial aid and to students of African or African American descent and/or recent immigrants from Africa.
Application Process:
- Students must submit their application using the link located at the Amadou Diallo Foundation website: https://amadoudiallofoundation.org/scholarship-program.html
- The deadline is Tuesday, February 21, 2023, at 6:00 p.m.
- Final award decisions will be made by the Amadou Diallo Foundation and Dr. Dalvin Hill, Associate Professor of Information Technology, and Interim Program Director of UMOC.
- Winners will be announced on February 28, 2023.
Expectations of Scholarship Recipients:
- Students must agree to carry a minimum of 12 credits if they receive the scholarship.
- To receive the scholarship on a continuing basis, students must make satisfactory academic progress and/or have a g.p.a. of 2.5, preferred.
- Students must be willing to participate in ADF’s mentoring and other programs and must demonstrate engagement in college extracurricular activities or volunteer with ADF or other external community groups.
- During the funding period, ADF Scholars agree to have once-a-month check-in with ADF Board members and at the end of each semester’s funding period write a final report describing how the scholarship and participation with ADF helped him/her to greater academic success.
Students will be asked to provide information about academic work to date and their financial eligibility for TAP, Pell, and other scholarships.
