SU Trio Awards Local Teen With Scholarship

What happens when three Southern University A&M College graduates decide to get together and give back to the community? They gift a local teen with a scholarship!

Graphic artist and CEO of Sam Ross Designs, Sam Ross, teamed up with Ellen McKnight of the Maxine Firm and Baton Rouge educator and attorney Dadrius Lanus, JD to create The Sankofa Scholarship. The trio awarded the scholarship to Baton Rouge teen, Destiny Morris, who graduated from Belaire High.

What inspired the idea? “It was something that was always on to my do list. I called Ellen, like how we always do. We’re always exchanging ideas, putting each other on to things. So it was just one of those days, when I was like ‘ok, hear me out,’” Ross says. “Once I explained it to her she was like, “Ok”, and that is literally how it went. It was Ellen who decided to reach out to Dadrius, who also works in the education field.”

Lanus is also running to represent District 2 on the East Baton Rouge School Board. “Being a part of the team was a perfect fit to me. It was Sam’s brainchild, something that he said he always wanted to do, and it actually transpired into something that I would like to do all across BR (Baton Rouge) providing more scholarships for more students, making sure that we give back in a major way,” Lanus shares.

Ross graduated from Southern University in 2012 and was the brainchild. Lanus graduated from SU in 2013 and acted as the spokesperson, and McKnight, who graduated from SU in 2013, was the creative director. The announcing of the winner actually took place during one of McKnight’s Jiggerarobics classes on Southern University’s campus.

“When I reflected back on my journey as a student, it was not always the smoothest, like my name was never called. I think it’s just testament to it’s not always how you start off but how you progress,” McKnight recalls. This thought is what inspired the group to change the requirements for applicants, lowering the required GPA to a 2.5.

Students were also required to be the following:

-Graduating high school senior or high school graduate of present calendar year

-MUST be attending Southern University and A&M as a freshman in upcoming spring or fall semester 

So what was it about Destiny? “She touched and agreed with our spirit. We had a lot of amazing applicants, Francheska. These kids came through! They had like 4.2, 3.9’s, but her (Destiny’s) essay held a lot of weight. She made a lot of good points,” says Ross. “She touched on why HBCU’s matter to her. She talked about history and her words affected and touched us in way that other applicants did not.”

Lanus noted that “Sankofa” means to give back to the younger generations. In the future the group hopes to able to award more students. People have already begun to pledge donations for the next scholarship(s).