GREENWOOD, MS (May 19, 2022)—The Board of Directors of The Legends Trust Fund is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 Legends Trust Fund Scholarships.

Amari K. Johnson, who will receive the top award, says in her application that she “desperately wants to become a surgeon.’’  She will begin her journey at Tennessee State University, where she plans to enter the dual pre-med program offered with Meharry Medical School.  She will receive a scholarship of $2,000 and will be designated the Leola Gregory Williams Inaugural Scholar.

Destiney I. Baker wants to study psychology at Jackson State University, with her ultimate goal to enter the area of mental health.  She notes that her late grandfather, Clemmons Baker, is a 1955 graduate of JSU where he was the classmate of one of our dear educators, Helen Griffith Adams, who lives in Nashville.  Destiney will receive a scholarship of $1,000 and will be designated the Solomon N. Outlaw, Inaugural Scholar.

Nyla Fant wants to study at Alcorn State University where she will study to become a travel nurse.  She will receive a $1,000 scholarship and will be designated the Olivia W. Perry Inaugural Scholar.

“We offer our congratulations to Amari, Destiney, and Nyla,” said Dr. John O. Hodges, Board Chair. “They are inaugural scholars who will forever be linked to our legends.  LTF wants to award scholarships in honor and in tribute of our legends, who sacrificed so much and on whose shoulders we stand.

“The scholarship offers a small but much needed stipend, but its value goes far beyond the money.  It is our way of saying we believe in you and that you are worthy of being associated with one of our Legends,” Hodges said.

The purpose of the Legends Trust Fund is simple: provide deserving students at Greenwood High School (in the Mississippi Delta) with money to further their education. In addition, the Fund feels the responsibility to recognize great Black educators from the past and their contributions to helping students in Greenwood excel and go well beyond what might have been expected of them.

To learn more, visit www.legendstrustfund.org.

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