Brunswick students to be awarded scholarships during Scholarship Night in honor of Ahmaud Arbery

After announcing earlier this year that the nonprofit foundation she created in honor of her slain son would award six $3,000 scholarships to young men of color at Brunswick High, Wanda Cooper-Jones announced that recipients of the scholarship have been selected. 

Cooper-Jones made the announcement last week on what would have been her son, Ahmaud Arbery’s 28th birthday. Six Brunswick High School seniors have been selected to receive these scholarship dollars for their college education by the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation. The scholarships were initially set to help the students in their freshman year. Due to a surge in donations, however, the inaugural scholarship was increased to $12,000 per student, $3,000 for each year of college, the organization said.

Those selected were chosen by a scholarship committee composed of teachers and coaches from Brunswick High, the foundation said Monday in a news release. Winners were required to maintain a high school GPA of at least 2.5 and receive a teacher’s recommendation. The recipients also wrote essays relating to Arbery’s life and their plans to honor him in college. 

Recipients have been selected but their names will not be released until May 23, during Scholarship Night at Brunswick High. The winners are set to attend Augusta University, Georgia State University, LaGrange College, Morehouse College, and Reinhardt College.

Arbery graduated from Brunswick High School in 2012. Arbery, who was Black, was fatally shot on Feb. 23, 2020, after being chased through a neighborhood just outside Brunswick by three white men in pickup trucks. 

The three were convicted of murder at a state trial last year and sentenced to life in prison. In February, Travis McMichael, his father Greg, and their neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan were also convicted of federal hate crimes charges.

Cooper-Jones said in a statement, “This scholarship feels like the best way to honor my son’s memory and to support other young men that hail from the Brunswick community. Due to the generosity of countless donors, we are happy to be able to support these young men throughout their college career.”

The foundation plans to expand the number of scholarships next year for high school seniors across the U.S. Those wishing to donate or learn more about the foundation can do so at ahmaudarberyfoundation.org.