Help Ni-Jilé Continue Her Education at Howard University

Hello! My name is Ni-Jilé Young, and I'm from Long Island, New York. As the third of four children, I grew up in poverty and was often told not to dream too big because some things were beyond our reach. But I dared to dream anyway. I dreamed of going to college, making a significant impact on the world, giving back to my community, and making my mother proud.

Howard University has always been my dream school, the place I believed would pave my path to greatness. Today, I am a first-generation international business major at Howard University, and I don't plan to stop there.

I graduated high school with a 4.0 GPA and earned an academic scholarship to Howard University, making it possible to attend my dream school. However, midway through the spring semester of my freshman year, tragedy struck my family. My family could no longer support my education financially, which broke their heart and spirit. Despite these challenges, my passion for education and my determination to succeed would not let me give up. I got a full-time job to pay the uncovered portion of the tuition. Then, tragedy struck again. The stress at home, working full-time, and not being able to afford essential class materials led to me failing a critical class in the spring semester. In the fall of my sophomore year, I found out I had lost my scholarship and was denied on appeal. I maxed out my student loans and grants and found a few small outside scholarships to pay toward my sophomore year. While I was able to recover my GPA, without the Howard University scholarship, I now face an outstanding balance of over $48,000, preventing me from moving forward to my senior year.

This summer, in addition to working full-time, I have interviewed with military recruiters, applied for scholarships, and received some funding that will help me with my and senior year. Unfortunately, this funding cannot be applied to my outstanding balance. I need immediate help to overcome this financial hurdle, to register for upcoming classes.

This journey has challenged me to my core. While navigating this academic journey has been extremely difficult and lonely at times, there has never been a moment when I didn't know that Howard University is where I am meant to be. If you can find it in your heart to donate to my campaign, I promise to make you proud of that contribution. I pledge that upon graduation and securing my first position, for every $1.00 donated to help me reach my dream, I will pay it forward and donate $2.00 over four years to another student struggling to reach their dream. Any amount you can give will make a significant difference in my life and bring me one step closer to making a significant impact on the world.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Your support means the world to me, and I am deeply grateful for any help you can provide.

With gratitude, Ni-Jilé Young