Sylvia & Herbert Woods Scholarship

Greetings,

For nearly 15 years, the Sylvia & Herbert Woods Scholarship Fund has helped students’ dreams of achieving higher education come true.

Founded in 2001 with the goal of assisting students from Harlem and surrounding communities, the Scholarship Fund and its dedicated group of volunteers has raised over $380,000 and provided financial assistance to 108 students.

Welcoming an additional eight new scholarship recipients this year, we are now attempting to raise $25,000 as our foundation expands its role in helping both past and present scholarship recipients afford increasing tuition rates.

We are asking the local community and fans around of the world of Sylvia’s famed restaurant in Harlem to join us in exceeding this $25,000 goal. Please help continue the Sylvia & Herbert Woods Scholarship Fund’s long legacy of investing in the future of our youth.

Warm Regards, 

Trevor Thomas

Member, Sylvia’s Committee of Angels
Sylvia & Herbert Woods Scholarship Recipient 2004 & 2006
Morehouse College 08’


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Attend our 14th Annual Scholarship Gala in Harlem on Friday, October 23rd at 7:30pm.

Please click on the link below to purchase tickets.

http://sylviasrestaurant.com/scholarship-gala/


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Part of the application for the Sylvia & Herbert Woods Scholarship includes a personal essay, asking the applicant to explain why they feel they deserve the scholarship. As most of our student applicants are from less than privileged economic backgrounds, deciding which applicants are awarded a scholarship is a tough task. But each year, certain students' essays exemplify a level of humility, intelligence and genuine desire to take their education to the next level that simply can't be ignored.

Here are a few examples:

Shaquary Deanna Ford,  2013 Recipient, Attending Fordham University


I need no introduction; you already know me.

You see me frequently in the statistics and stereotypes: The teenager from East Harlem, the community that has low graduation rates and high dropout rates, drug and gang violence. I am the poster child.

Yes, I am the tragic news story, the in-your-face headline, the "if it bleeds, it leads" TV newscast of a community where the "have nots" live next door to the "did-nots", "could-nots", and "will-nots". But no matter the circumstances of East Harlem, I do not intend to become another negative in my community. The "me" you don't know is the one who is struggling to succeed. I believe that the only way out of struggling, is to struggle.

For me, it is nothing less than a struggle when you consider the war I am waging. The statistics said I wouldn't make it, that I'd be another typical failure. I didn't see it that way, but the statistic scared yet motivated me to work harder. I dedicated my time to being the best that I could possibly be -- now graduating as salutatorian of my school.

I am entitled tor ecieve the Sylvia and Herbert Woods Scholarship because I know what it's like to work hard for what you want, even when all odds are against you. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., talked about the importance of overcoming, It is a legacy and a challenge that he left for today and tomorrow. For me, that philosophy is like a graduation at which a girl from East Harlem went from poster child for failure, to drum major for change.


Tyler Blint- Welsh, 2014 Recipient, Attending Northeastern University

I do not like to consider myself “entitled” to anything. Growing up in New York City as a minority, it was instilled in me from a very young age that I would have to work hard to achieve anything. So I worked. In elementary school I was sent into the gifted and talented program at my school. In middle school, I attended and excelled at one of the best middle schools in the city. In high school, I currently attend the number one ranked school in the state and have continued to excel in my classes.

Outside of the classroom, I've worked on the basketball court. I'm the team captain of my high school basketball team and hopefully, I will be playing basketball at Emerson College in Boston, come this fall. On my travel basketball team I worked, and became our leading scorer. Three days a week, I wake up at 4:30am to go to the gym before school. I don’t allow anything to come easy.

Outside of the basketball court, I've worked in the courtroom. This past winter I was selected as one of 14 students in the United States to compete in the International Moot Court competition. Moot Court is an activity in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings and must draft briefs, and present an oral argument. The competition took place in The Hague, Netherlands and I competed against students from fourteen other countries across Europe and Asia. I balanced school, basketball and Moot Court enough to be voted the 4th best individual speaker in the competition, out of over 160 students.

I aspire to be a sports journalist one day and intend to major in journalism in college. I have my own sports blog, and I have had my articles featured on popular blogs run by college students. By far, my top choice in terms of higher education is Emerson College. When I was accepted, I was absolutely ecstatic. However, the yearly cost of attendance is $50,000 and I know that my parents will not be able to afford it. Thus, I must explore every avenue available to me in order to ensure that I can attend.

I am not entitled to this scholarship— I deserve it.  I deserve this scholarship for the way that I carry myself both inside and outside of the classroom. I deserve this scholarship because I am a positive representative of the minority youth community.  And I deserve it because I know that I will make the best use of this scholarship possible.  The Sylvia and Herbert Woods Scholarship will be the key for me to be able to accomplish the most important goal that I have set for myself, which is to become a successful journalist.

I'm very proud to apply for The Sylvia and Herbert Woods Scholarship, which honors the legacy of two very successful Harlem entrepreneurs. They always gave back to the African American community, and they taught their children to make a commitment to educate the youth of the future.  The late Mr. and Mrs. Woods left me, and many others, some very big footsteps to follow, and I plan to do so.

Reuben Wilson, 2014 Recipient, Attending The New School


When I was a little boy, I always found college to be this fascinating new chapter in people’s lives. The way the media portrays it, and how it’s so vital to have a college education really gives it a run for your money. My father never went to college, or even graduated high school, and my mother only went to college for a short period of time. I told them ever since I was a young boy, that I would go to college, and be the first one to fulfill my goals the way I wanted to.

I have had a lot of support growing up, which sadly a lot of children my age did not receive. I feel that I am blessed to have such a supportive group of people around me, including family and friends. I am currently enrolled in a performing arts high school. I've helped out with auditions and shows in my school, and performed in shows as well.

The arts have helped me form the person that I am today. It's allowed me to broaden my view on people, personalities, and lifestyles. I believe it has led me to why I want to study psychology, why I want to understand how people work and how to help others. It has also allowed me to understand why I am 100% for equal rights for all, racially and individually, and why I am who I am.

College is expensive, and sadly I do not have enough to afford it in full. I believe that the Sylvia & Herbert Woods foundation would help my family and I greatly while I learn and study in college for psychology. I will be able to fulfill the goals I set for myself, and will be able to be the first person on my father's side of the family to enroll in college.