Jamari Green has fond memories of the day she got word from the UNCF Koch Scholars Program that she had been chosen to receive one of its $5,000-a-year renewable scholarships.
“I was really excited because my freshman year I had to take out loans and it was difficult for me to pay for my books,” Green — a senior at Claflin University — told Diverse.
“Going into my sophomore year, I didn’t want to take out another loan,” said Green, who says both her parents have struggled with unemployment. “The scholarship alleviated all of those issues and made me more at ease about continuing with my collegiate experience.”
Now a 4.0 business administration major set to graduate this spring at the top of her class, Green has a pending job offer from Deloitte — a global consulting firm where she interned this past summer.
She speaks of eventually starting a nonprofit to help students such as herself realize their collegiate and professional goals.
Her LinkedIn profile boasts a pair of internships with the U.S. Department of Energy and other notable awards. The most lengthy entry is the Koch scholarship, which she credits with encouraging and enabling her to pursue her civic entrepreneurial dreams.
Green counts a recent meeting with Charles Koch — one-half of the billionaire duo behind the $25 million UNCF gift — as one of the highlights of being a UNCF Koch scholar, which she describes as a “life-changing experience.”
