By Kenneth Mullinax/ASU
On September 4, brothers of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. assembled in the Alabama State University President's Conference Room to donate $12,000 to six deserving ASU students. The awards come from the Dr. Ralph J. Bryson Academic Scholarship Fund (Bryson Scholarship Fund). Each student was awarded $2,000, which they may use for expenditures related to their education.
The scholarship fund honors Dr. Bryson, who served a 59-year tenure at ASU as an acting department chairman and a professor of African American literature before his retirement in 2012. Dr. Bryson died on Feb. 12, 2022.
The chairman of the Bryson Scholarship Fund, Robert Banks, made the presentations to the students as ASU President, Dr. Quinton T. Ross, Jr., presided over the occasion.
"Today's event symbolizes the excellence that Dr. Bryson exemplified as one of the longest serving faculty members at The Alabama State University," said President Ross. "As a former student of his, this gives me great joy in knowing that Dr. Bryson is still impacting our students in a positive way through his scholarship fund."
Banks spoke on behalf of Bryson’s beloved fraternity during the brief ceremony.
"We are here at ASU to formally award financial scholarships from our fraternity's Dr. Ralph J. Bryson Academic Scholarship Fund to six students who demonstrate academic excellence and represent all that is best," stated Banks.
The students receiving the scholarships are:
* Destanie Charles, a native of Miramar, Fla., who is a freshman majoring in Biology-Pre Med;
* Van Vinson, a native of Montgomery, Ala., who is a freshman majoring in Business Management;
* Jaden Smith, a native of Memphis, Tenn., who is a freshman majoring in Computer Science;
* Radley Porterfield, a native of Montgomery, Ala., who is a freshman majoring in Computer Science;
* Matthew Cook, a native of Atlanta, Ga., who is a sophomore majoring in Biology-Pre Med;
* Jayden Prise, a native of Albany, Ga., who is a freshman majoring in Biology-Pre Med.
"This award is very helpful to me in that it allows me to be supported in the many costs involved in attending school which includes my books, a meal plan, housing and numerous other things," stated Cook.
Prise echoed Cook’s comments and expressed his gratitude.
"This award means a lot to me in knowing that a group of ASU alumni, all fraternity brothers, showed that they believe in me and my fellow winners and have invested in all of us to ensure that we attend and graduate from Alabama State and accomplish great things at ASU and in life," Prise said.
To donate to the Bryson Scholarship Fund, visit: www.ralphjbrysonscholarship.com