Meet Terrence G. Caldwell, the founder of HBCU Alum, a leading online platform highlighting Historically Black Colleges and Universities that is launching its 2022 offering of #HBCUBound Scholarships. These merit-based financial awards, which can be used to assist with books, tuition, or school-related fees, will be open to any graduating high school senior planning to enroll at an HBCU in the fall of 2022.

Originally launched in 2009, the scholarship program’s initial goal was to help encourage talented students in the Orangeburg, SC area to consider attending Black Colleges/Universities. The program’s outreach was expanded after the formation of HBCU Alum LLC in 2017, and last year’s scholarships had over 140 applicants from twenty-four different states.

There are over 100+ Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the nation and almost 10% of all African American students attend one of these institutions. According to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF), “More than 75% of students at HBCUs rely on Pell Grants and nearly 13% rely on PLUS Loans to meet their college expenses. HBCUs only have 1/8 of the average size of endowments as predominately white institutions. Against these odds, HBCU’s historically have provided an affordable education to millions of students of color, graduating the majority of America’s African American teachers, doctors, judges, engineers, and other scientific and technological professionals.”

“Our main goal is to positively highlight HBCUs and their proud students and alumni. However, we also desire to enlighten the masses who may not be familiar with the rich HBCU history, traditions, and culture,” said Terrence, who is a Tennessee State University graduate. “As our rapidly-growing online platform continues to evolve, we hope to award an increasingly higher number of financial awards to talented HBCU-bound students in the future.”

For more information regarding the scholarships, visit TheHBCUAlum.com.

(Editor’s Note: This article first appeared in Black News)